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Thrilling Adventures 



OF 



American Pioneers 
AND Heroes 



CONTAINING 



GRAPHIC ACCOUNTS OF MEN WHOSE DARING DEEDS 
HAVE GIVEN THEM WORLD-WIDP: FAME 

INCLUDING 

HEROES OF LAND AND SEA 

PIONEERS AND THEIR CELEBRATED EXPLOITS, SUCH AS DANIEL 

BOONE; KIT CARSON; FREMONT, THE PATHFINDER; 

LEWIS AND CLARKE; DAVID CROCKETT, ETC. 

TOGETHER WITH 

GREAT NAVAL COMMANDERS, SUCH AS JOHN PAUL JONES; 

COMMODORE PERRY; AND STEPHEN DECATUR; ADMIRAL 

FARRAGUT; BUCHANAN AND WORDEN ; McDONOUGH ; 

CUSHING; SERGEANT JASPER, ETC., ETC. 

By HENRY DAVENPORT NORTHROP 

Author of "Story of the New World;" "Grandest Century in the World's History;" 
" Excelsior Writer and Speaker ; " " World's Reuow ned Authors," Etc. 



PROFUSELY EMBELLISHED WITH SUPERB PHOTOTYPE AND LINE ENGRAVINGS 



NATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

235 TO 243 SO. AMERICAN ST. 

PHILADELPHIA. PA. 



^f1 



LiBRARYof CONGf?ESS 
Two CoDies Received 
MAH 21 1907.. 

..^Gopyrierht Entry 

VJLJtSS A XXc, No. 
co^ Y K. ' 



ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1907, BY 

HORACE C. FRY 

IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON 0. C, 0. S. A. 



PREFACE. 



THE men who perform noble and heroic deeds merit the admiration of 
all intelligent people. This work contains the brilliant records of 
our American heroes, and pays them the honor of being the makers 
of history. It tells the absorbing story of their struggles and sacrifices, 
their devotion to duty and splendid triumphs. 

The work begins with the heroes of the wilderness. Daniel Boone, 
with only his rifle for a companion, has thrilling adventures with the 
Indians ; Kit Carson shows himself to be a heroic leader and guide. John 
C. Fremont plants the Stars and Stripes on the highest peak of the 
Rockies, and earns the proud title of "The Pathfinder." Lewis and 
Clarke, under the direction of President Jefferson, explore the great 
Northwest, make the acquaintance of unknown tribes of Indians, and 
after encountering incredible hardships and dangers, open the way to the 
Pacific Ocean. David Crockett, that eccentric hero of many adventures, 
tells the thrilling story of his famous career, which all readers follow with 
absorbing interest. These are the heroes of the wild frontiers, our nation's 
advance guard, preparing the way for civilization. 

Our Naval Heroes, the great " Masters of the Sea," are seen through 
the dark clouds of storm and battle, and graphic accounts are furnished 
of their heroic achievements. Their personal heroism is the wonder of all 
readers and the theme of song and story. We hear the roar of their death- 
dealing guns and are ready to applaud their brilliant victories. 

A full account is given of Commodore Decatur, renowned for extra- 
ordinary resolution and cool intrepidity, displayed in his daring exploit in 
the harbor of Tripoli. The valor of Commodore Perry in the battle of Lake 
Erie has long been our nation's pride and admiration. The story, as told 
in these pages, is one of the thrilling incidents in our naval history. 

A p. & H. iJ 



4 PREFACE. 

McDonougli, on Lake Champlain, added a splendid and decisive victory to 
his laurels, and this, too, is fully narrated. 

The record of Commander Worden's battle with the Merrimac, in 
which the little David of the navy slew the Goliath of the enemy, forms 
a part that excites unwonted curiosity and interest in the reader. It was 
a battle royal, that turned the tide of combat and revolutionized the war- 
ships of the world. And then the sturdy Farragut appears on the scene, 
and we write his name high on the scroll that commemorates our cham- 
pion heroes. Brave in battle, cool and self-possessed, from his place where 
he is lashed to the mast of his ship he points the way to victory, and 
shows that his rank is high among our dauntless heroes. 

This very attractive work contains a detailed and glowing account of 
Cushing's great exploit, which proved him to be the possessor of a personal 
bravery that belongs to few men. It was a venture that meant life or death. 
He staked life and won the day. This and other examples of courage 
must be read before they can be fully understood and appreciated. The 
pages of this volume are replete with incidents and events that makes the 
story of our heroes throb in every line. 

The thrilling account of John Paul Jones, who has been styled the 
father of the American Navy, and whose remains have been borne over 
the sea, to be buried in the soil of the country he honored so illustriously, 
is given in a masterly manner. In this brilliant array of heroes Sergeant 
William Jasper claims a place, who immortalized himself by his brave 
deed at the siege of Charleston. 

This magnificent work is a splendid record of our famous heroes. It 
ought to be the companion of every person in our country. It is worthy 
of a place in every American home. 



p. & H. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
Daniel Boone. 



His Early Life — Famous as Sharpshooter — Captive among the Indians — 
Adventures on the Frontier — Capture of Three Girls by the Savages 
— Dangers and Trials of the Settlers — Heroism of a Little Garri- 
son — Boone's Life Saved by a Noted Spy — Wounded in a Desperate 
Fight — Adopted into an Indian Family — Defense of Fort at Boones- 
borough — Victory after a Fearful Siege — Boone's Last Days — Grand 
Pioneer 17 

CHAPTER II. 

Kit Carson. 

Famous Trapper and Guide — Daring Exploits in the West — Encounters 
with the Indians — A Picturesque Horseman and Hunter — Capture 
of Large Herds of Cattle — Trading with the Indians — Lucky Escape 
from Climbing Bears — Receives a Painful Wound in the Neck — 
Pursuit of Horse Stealers — Deadly Shot in the Nick of Time — 
• Return to the Home of Boyhood — Enthusiastic Welcome — Fremont 
Secures Carson for a Guide — Splendid Achievements on the 
Frontier 62 

CHAPTER III. 

John C. Fremont. 

Styled " The Pathfinder " — Ignorance of the Public Concerning the 
Great West — Expedition of Hardy Explorers — Friendly Meeting 
with the Indians — Crossing the Rocky Mountains — Lakes and 
Canyons — Interest in Fremont's Discoveries — Terrible Journey of 
Forty Days — Explorer Becomes Renowned — Promoted for His Grand 
Achievements — New Routes Discovered to the Pacific Coast — High 
Honors Bestowed on Fremont — Nominated for President ... 80 

p. & a 6 



6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Lewis and Clarke. 

Unparalleled Expedition — Ordered by President Jefferson — Sketch of 
the Explorers — The Osage River — Peculiarities and Customs of 
the Indian Tribes — Religious Beliefs of the Red Men — Courage 
and Endurance — Burial Customs — Degraded Condition of the Squaws 
— Tact and Bravery of the Exploring Party — Discovery of the Sources 
of the Missouri — Journey Across the Rocky Mountains — Return of 
the Expedition to St. Louis — Death of Captain Lewis .... 97 

CHAPTER V. 

David Crockett. 

Eccentric Character — In the War of the Creek Indians — His Marriage — 
Removal to a New Settlement — Backwoods Magistrate — Adventures 
with Bears and Indians — Member of the State Legislature — Member 
of Congress — Tour Through the North — Goes to Fight for the Inde- 
pendence of Texas — At the Famous Siege of the Alamo — Killed in 
A Desperate Encounter 122 

CHAPTER VI. 
Commodore Stephen Decatur. 

Hero of Tripoli — Son of a Prominent Naval Man — Officer on Shipboard 
at the Age of Nineteen — Embarks in a Dangerous Undertaking — 
Enters the Harbor of Tripoli to Rescue an American Ship — Enemy 
Thrown into a Panic — Great Personal Heroism — Narrow Escape from 
Death — Our Naval Power a Surprise — Presented by Congress with a 
Sword — Sad End of a Gallant Career 142 

CHAPTER VII. 

Commodore Oliver H. Perry. 

Hero of Lake Erie — Bom to be a Sailor — Extraordinary Valor in Battle 
— Offered Services to His Country — Leader of an Important Expedi- 
tion — Ships in Line of Battle — Murderous Fire by a Whole Batter}' 
— Almost a Complete Wreck — Gallant Lieutenant Struck Down by a 

p. & H, 



CONTENTS. T 

Shot — Perry Pushes Off in an Open Boat — Loud Cheers All Along 
the Line — Enemy's Ships Haul Down Their Flag — " Met the Enemy 
and They are Ours " — Saved by a Woman's Prayers — Perry's Per- 
sonal Appearance 148 

CHAPTER VHL 

Commodore Thomas M'Donough. 

Hero of Lake Champlain — Young Officer Severely Wounded — Line of 
Battle Formed — Loud Cheers when a Rooster Crowed — American 
Ships Badly Damaged — Manoeuvering for Advantages — Lamentable 
Destruction of Life — Vessel Riddled by Over a Hundred Balls — Gal- 
lant Conduct of American Officers — M'Donough's Splendid Skill and 
Bravery — Victory Receives Universal Praise 168 

CHAPTER IX. 

Buchanan and Worden. 

Heroes of the Merrimac and Monitor — Great Naval Battle — Monster Fit- 
ted to Create Terror — Impenetrable Coat of Mail — Sinking of the 
Ship Cumberland — On Fire in a Number of Places — Merrimac Una- 
ble to Get Near Land — Arrival of the Monitor — Singular Looking 
Vessel — Commander Worden — Monitor Begins the Attack — Battle 
Royal Between Giants — David and Goliath Among Warships — Shots 
that Produced Startling Effects — Little Lion of the Navy — Fight 
Revolutionized Naval Warfare 183 

CHAPTER X. 

Admiral David G. Farragut. 

Hero of New Orleans and Mobile Bay — At School when a Boy in Wash- 
ington — Commander in the Mexican War — Master of Details of Sea- 
manship — Established Navy Yard in San Francisco — In Command 
of the Steam-sloop-of-war Hartford — Battle of Mobile Bay — In the 
Rigging of the Hartford — Weeps at the Loss of His Men — Splendid 
Public Reception — Grade of Admiral Created for Farragut — Heroic 

Commander — Thorough Scholar 200 

p. & H. 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XI. 
Commander William B. Cushing. 

Birth and Early Training— Story of the Albemarle — Parrot Rifles and 
Dahlgren Guns — Directions for the Combat — Shot that Went Clear 
Through — Monster Anchored and Guarded — Bold Attempt to Capture 
a General — Cushing's Report of His Famous Exploit — Air Thick 
with Bullets — Conspicuous Bravery of a Naval Officer — Cushing 
Promoted for Gallant Conduct 207 

CHAPTER Xn. 
Captain John Paul Jones. 

Hero of a Desperate Fight — Captured Valuable Prizes — Severe Gale — 
Exploit of a Cutter — Gallant Young Lieutenant Dale — Warning 
Given of a Hostile Force — Brave Crew — Killed by Bursting Guns — 
Runs Ship on the Enemy — Vessel Badly Shattered — Brave Reply of 
the American Commander — Ships Supposed to be Sinking — Great 
Loss of Life on Both Sides — Medal Awarded to Jones by Congress — 
Astonishing Deeds 220 

CHAPTER XHL 

Sergeant^ William Jasper. 

Hero of Fort Moultrie — Curious Fort — Regiment of Famous Riflemen — 
British Fleet in Charleston Harbor — Furious Engagement — Standard 
Shot Away — Flag Replaced by Jasper — Storm of Shot and Shell — 
American Shots Very Destructive — Jasper Presented by Governor 
Rutledge With His Own Sword — Gallant Services Under General 
Marion 248 



p. & H 




PRESIDENT LINCOLN ON INAUGURATION DAY, MARCH 4, 1861 



CHAPTER I. 

DANIEL BOONE. 

HIS EARLY LIFE — HOME IN THE WILDERNESS — DANGERS AND HARDSHIPS. 
BATTLES WITH THE INDIANS — WONDERFUL ESCAPES FROM HIS FOES. 
HEROIC LEADER OF CIVILIZATION — HIS ROMANTIC HISTORY. 

THE name of Daniel Boone, as one of the pioneers, has gone around 
the world. Long ago it was celebrated wherever men admired 
courage, or loved to read stories of individual sacrifice and daring. 
Captain Cook had sailed around the globe, bringing home with him 
accounts of men that were scarcely known in the popular imagination ; 
but Boone set out with calmness, as if he were obeying a religious 
inspiration, and buried himself in the wilderness. It required great 
resolution to do what he did ; and yet it seemed to come to him as easily 
as play to a child. 

Daniel Boone was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in the year 
1735, on the nth of February, and was nearly three years youngei 
than Washington, at the time of the Revolution. He was a boj of 
remarkably good constitution, which was about the best inheritance 
his parents could leave him. At three years of age he removed, with 
the family, to what is now the city of Reading, Berks County — then, 
however, but a meagre and exposed post on the outskirts of the wilderness. 
The Indians threatened the peace of the settlement at all times. It was 
not safe to go out of the reach of the dwelling, unless precautions were 
taken against sudden attacks from the red men. Ambushes were likely 
to be sprung upon the settlers on every side. 

It was in a school of danger like this that Boone, then scarcely 
more than a child, received his first lessons in life ; and it may be 
2APH IT 



18 DANIEL BOONE. 

believed they were rugged and lasting ones. There he learned all about 
the tricks and traits of the Indians. The talk was chiefly upon them 
and their wily habits. He learned the dangers of the life his parents 
led, and was, at the same time, taught to love perfect simplicity. 

FAMOUS AS A SHARPSHOOTER. 

Of course he learned to use the gun as soon as he had the strength 
to carry it about with him. He became an expert marksman very early. 
Sharp shooting, in fact, was necessary almost to his existence ; and if not 
so at the time, it became so in a great many startling adventures after- 
wards. As he grew up, his love of hunting and solitude became more 
and more noticeable. 

'^ He would go off alone in the woods, with nothing but his gun for 
company, all day. Many a story is told of his wonderful feats, such as 
the number of animals he brought down with his unerring bullets, or 
the fierce and successful encounters he was wont to have with the den- 
izens of the forest. The whole settlement looked upon him with pride, if 
not with hope ; for they saw in him those shining qualities that give 
lasting fame to the frontiersman and pioneer. 

Having acquired the fame of a hunter, it was natural enough that 
he should think of no other occupation in life. So he soon began to grow 
restless under the restraints of home, and finally went out from beneath 
his father's roof and built a little hut in the forest, where he played the 
hermit and woodsman to his heart's content. The wild beasts roamed 
all around him by day, and their bowlings made a dismal concert for 
him at night. He was alone ; 3'et the solitude never, became oppressiv-e 
to him. He had yearned for just such a life since he began to know 
what life was worth. The walls of his hut were hung around with skins 
of animals, trophies of his skill and faring. 

Thinking to better their condition, the Boone family, in 1753. 
moved to North Carolina. Here young Daniel Boone lived until he 
arrived at manhood. About this time great events were transpiring in 
the world, and grander ones were preparing. The French and Engiisa 



DANIEL BOONE. 10 

were at war with each other, and the contest was transferred to this 
continent, where it was waged with terrific fury. It was along through 
these years that Israel Putnam was getting his valuable experience as a 
soldier in the neighborhood of Lake George, fighting bravely against the 
French and Indians. Washington, too, was schooling under Braddock 
in the Western wilderness, having already acquired the quick eye and 
firm foot, in his perilous enterprises as a surveyor in the depths of the 
forest. 

Daniel married Rebecca Bryan, the daughter of a worthy neighbor, 
and with his young bride set out to make a home for himself in the 
wilderness, some distance from the place where the Boone family resided. 
Here they lived a life of solitude, surrounded by Indians and wild beasts, 
their cabin being the only one for a long time in that part of the Yadkin 
Valley. Boone's love of the wilderness not being sufficiently gratified 
here, he planned an expedition into Kentucky, then almost unknown. 
In June, 1769, he halted with five companions on the Red River, a branch 
of the Kentucky. 

PARTED IN THE WILDERNESS NEVER TO MEET AGAIN. 

For a long time, matters went on swimmingly. They were becom- 
ing more and more accustomed to their new life, and even began to calcu- 
late upon the propriety of returning to North Carolina for their families. 
Fearing nothing from the approach of the red man, the}- presently forgot 
to take those precautions which were, in fact, essential to their daily 
safety, and so invited dangers when they might just as well have repelled 
them. It was a fatal mistake for this little party of pioneers to separate ; 
yet they were thoughtless enough to do so, and the most disastrous con- 
sequences followed. They divided up — one party being composed of 
Stewart and Boone ; the other four men went exploring in another 
direction. Henceforth their ways diverged forever. Neither party saw 
the other again. 

As Boone has himself narrated, the Indians surprised him and his 
companion when they ought to have been on the watch, and carried them 



20 DANIEL BOONE. 

off prisoners. This was au entirely new phase of life for our forest 
hero. A ^an who, all his life, has had the free range of forest and field, 
would not be likely to keep quiet in a state of sudden imprisonment. 
His spirit would chafe sorely, and he would find himself impatient once 
more to be free. But Daniel Boone was a philosopher, and could see at 
a glance what was most prudent and safe. As soon as he comprehended 
his novel and dangerous situation, he made up his mind to keep calm and 
resign himself to his fate. By this means he would disarm the suspi- 
cions of the savages, and have more abundant opportunities to make his 
escape. Patience is a rare virtue, all the books and moralists tell us ; 
and few men would have had the sagacity, as Boone had, to see that his 
fate hung entirely on his practice of that one quality. 

A CAPTIVE AMONG THE INDIANS. 

He was a captive for seven days. At the end of that time, they 
lay down at night in the midst of their tawny guard, and disposed them- 
selves for sleep. At the still midnight hour, when the silence of the 
wilderness is indeed awful, Boone raised his head and looked around him. 
By the deep and steady breathing of his savage captors, he knew they 
were fast locked in slumber. Then, he felt, his opportunity had come. 
Cautiously awakening his companion, they both regained their feet, took 
their rifles from the keeping of the Indians, and crept out of the little 
camp. They both felt that discover}'' would have been certain death ; 
and therefore they pushed forward in the midnight gloom with redoubled 
courage and energy. But they succeeded in eluding their captors, and 
commenced their wanderings together again. 

They went to their old camp ; but their former companions were 
gone. Everything betokened disappointment and desolation. The camp 
had been broken up, and appearances indicated violence and plunder. 
From this point they never again found traces of those four men. Their 
fate remains to this day a sealed mystery. Whether they fell victims to 
the bloody rage of the Indians, who had surprised them in their fancied 
security, or they had wandered away in different directions, and, weary 




m 



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St*- 




o 




mencp 














t _,*-- 




^ 



SCENE ON THE JAMES RIVER IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF VIRGINIA 

AN ARROW OF THE PURSUING INDIANS HAS JUST MISSED THE GIRL'S SHOULDER 
AND PLUNGED INTO THE SNOW-COVERED BANK 



DANIEL HOON'E. 21 

and despairing, had laid their bones in the undiscovered solitudes of the 
wilderness, no man lives that can tell. And thus sadly ended the career 
of the discoverer and early eulogist of Kentucky, John Finley ; that man 
whose vivid reports of this new western paradise kindled enthusiasm in 
so many bosoms on the banks of the peaceful Yadkin. 

LIVED BY HUNTING GAME. 

Boone and Stewart were therefore left alone Their sole reliance, 
both for subsistence and defence, was on their unerring rifles. They 
built a hut to protect themselves against the influence of the wintrj- 
weather, and hunted and watched, waiting patiently for the spring to 
open. In the month of January, they espied a couple of men coming 
towards them. Looking closer they saw they were white men. What 
must have been the feelings of our hero to find that one of them was 
Squire Boone, his youngest brother ! Squire brought news from Daniel's 
wife and children ; and Stewart was rejoiced to get intelligence from the 
settlement. The circumstances that led to the discovery of Boone's little 
camp by the new comers, were never described ; but it seems, at least, 
like the most marvelous piece of good fortune on record. 

A second time this little party separated. Daniel Boone and Stewa^^ 
pursued one course, and Squire Boone and his friend — whose name even 
is not known — followed another. One would think they had already 
learned a better lesson. The consequence was, Stewart was surprised 
and slaughtered by the Indians, while Daniel Boone made his escape; 
and his brother Squire's companion becoming alarmed, probably thought, 
in a fit of desperation, to find his way back alone to Carolina, and was 
never heard of again alive. It is said that a skeleton was long afterward'' 
found in the region, which was believed to have told the tale of his dark 
and mysterious fate. Thus were the brothers Boone left the only white 
occupants of that vast territor}^, the real pioneers in the march of civili- 
zation that has been going forward to the West, from that trying and 
doubtful day to these jubilant and prosperous days of our own. 

In order to effect a real settlement in that region, it was necessary 



22 



DANIEL BOONE. 



tured. 



THE 

Daniel 



to bring foi-\vard 
recruits, animals 
and provisions. 
The question was 
how was tliis best 
to be done? Dur- 
ing tlieir winter 
discussions at the 
fire, the Boone 
brothers had can- 
vassed it very 
freely, and con- 
cluded at last what 
was best to be at- 
tempted. The pow- 
der was low, and 
bullets were scarce 
for the rifles ; if 
these two items 
failed, all was lost. 
Hence it was im- 
portant that some- 
thing should be 
done as soon as 
possible. Daniel 
Boone was all 
ready for the sac- 
rifice, and his 
brother Squire was 
quite as willing to 
perform his part. 
PIONEER HERO. DANIEL BOONE. The plan was ma- 

would remain where he was, and Squire would travel 




DANIEL BOONE, 2?, 

back alone to North Carolina, to obtain recruits and supplies. It was a 
distance of many hundred miles. A bolder project was never under- 
taken than that which makes the names of these two devoted Boone 
brothers immortal. 

Young Squire Boone came back. He had traversed that long dis- 
tance, to and fro, without a companion, and at last he stood by his brother's 
side again. He had faithfully kept his promise to return. He brought 
along with him a pair of horses, with provisions. He brought welcome 
news from the brave hunter's wife and famil}-. He brought tidings ot 
the murmur of the people at the foreign rule that oppressed them, and 
possibly of the recent Boston Massacre, which sent a thrill of horror 
through the country. The horses were invaluable, and yet a source of the 
greatest anxiety ; for they were j ust what would be most likely to betray 
them into the hands of the Indians. They could not be hidden, as the 
brothers could hide themselves. They would not fail to testify their 
presence at any and at all times to the Indian. For eight months these 
two men roamed over the tract of territory upon which they had entered, 
and were net once molested. 

BOONE RECEIVED HOME WITH WONDER AND DELIGHT. 

The brothers then made a slow and tiresome journey back to North 
Carolina, with the intention of inducing as many families as possible to 
emigrate and found a settlement in Kentucky. After his long absence, 
Daniel Boone was received with delight and wonder by his family and 
old acquaintances. At length a little party was made up to migrate to 
the wilds of Kentucky. It consisted of only the two Boone families — 
those of Daniel and Squire ; those who had thought they would go, not 
feeling quite ready when the time really came. The Boones, however, 
determined to set the example, and to leave that, and their description ot 
the new country westward, to do their own work upon the minds of the 
people in the Yadkin settlements. They set forth on the 25th day of 
September, 1773, taking along with them some cattle and horses. 

Courage generally makes its own conquests ; and by the time this 



DANIEL BOONE. 2o 

little party reached Powell's Valley, they found, to their astonishment 
and delight, that the stories of the new country had persuaded five more 
families to join the projected expedition, together with a band of some 
forty strong and determined men, all well armed for the enterprise and 
its dano-ers. It was truly a great accession. At the head of this band 
of pioneers Daniel Boone was placed, by virtue of his character and 
experience, and at once led them out into the western wilderness, across 
the long dreaded mountains. 

A BRUTAL MASSACRE BY THE SAVAGES. 

But a cloud rested upon them ere long, whose shadow served to 
obscure all their plans. They had proceeded safely on their journey till 
the loth day of October, seeing nothing of the Indians, so much dreaded 
by all, when a most sad fatality overtook them, rending the heart of the 
leader with grief. It seems that a part of the company, seven in number, 
had gone back a little way to collect together some of the cattle that had 
wandered a little from the main body ; and, fearing no danger because 
they had hitherto met with none, they became in a degree thoughtless 
about keeping the usual watch. In an unguarded moment they were set 
upon by a party of savages, who had stealthily tracked them along, and, 
without the slightest warning, six out of the seven were cruelly butchered! 
Of these six, a young son of Daniel Boone, only seventeen years of age, 
was one. The main body of the pioneers heard the sounds proceeding 
from the fight while it was going on, and at once rushed to the scene ; 
but they reached the spot only to find that all had been slain but one, 
and the young and brave son of Boone among them. The seventh had 
managed to make his escape. 

Here was a sorrowful beginning indeed. Slaughter on the very 
threshold of the undertaking. They did not dare to think of going on. 
for the forest might be swarming with bloodthirsty savages. 

It was resolved to fall back to the settlements on the Clinch River. 
Here Boone remained six months, patiently w^aiting for the time when 
he could carry out his cherished project. At length he was engaged as 



^^ DANIEL BOONE. 

the agent of a Carolina company in purchasing the land on the south 
side of the Kentucky River. A company of surveyors and settlers went 
forward with him, his own family remaining behind, and in 1775 he built 
a stockade fort on the site now occupied by Boonesborough. 

BUILDING A STRONG FORT. 

Having planned the fort, the party sprang to the work with earnest 
vigor, feeling how important its completion was to their own safety. The 
structure was built close by the river, one end resting on the bank, and 
the whole extending back for a distance of two hundred and sixty feet. 
It was a hundred and fifty feet wide. The style of it is as follows ; large 
pieces of timber were sharpened and one end driven into the ground, very 
much like common pickets, and within the enclosure thus formed were 
the several cabins and huts of the party. It may not seem as if such a 
defence could amount to a great deal, but it did, for all that ; the Indians 
knew nothing of the hiding places that might be stowed away in this 
rude fort, while, at the same time, it afforded the settler a better advan- 
tage over his artful enemy ; the forest and the cane-brake were well 
understood by the savage, who there had everything on his side ; but the 
fort was a puzzle whose key he did not know how to get hold of. Still, 
there was one strong objection to this fort : it was close by the woods at 
one end, thus affording the savage every chance to approach the settlers, 
and still be concealed from them. 

At each corner of this great enclosure was built a strong log hut, 
with its hewn ends projecting outwardly, thus making the whole a more 
enduring defence than before. The cabins, or huts, were likewise con- 
structed side by side, with rough and heavy logs, making it next to 
impossible to overcome their united strength. Then the few gates needed 
were stout and heavy, difficult to be moved at all, and capable of success- 
fully resisting any assault, even from overwhelming numbers. 

To build this fort required from the istof April till the 14th of June. 
In other words, it was begun just before the battle of Lexington, and 
completed just before the battle of Bunker Hill. Important events were 



p 



DANIEL BOONE. 27 



transpiring, at that time, as well on tlie seaboard as far back in the wild- 
erness. One man lost his life at the hands of the Indians, while the 
work was going on, and that was all. The natives of the forest could not 
but regard the building of this fort among them, in the very heart of 
their noble hunting-grounds, with greater jealousy even than the 
laying out of the road ; hence they were aroused to making concerted 
movements to destroy it and its white inmates together. To have lost 
but one man by them, during the progress of the work, therefore, was a 
great deal less misfortune than might reasonably have been expected. 

HIS JOURNEY BACK TO VIRGINIA. 

Boone, by this time, felt as if he would like to go back and see his 
wife and children again. To this end, he determined to leave the garri- 
son where they were, duly cautioning them against surprises at the hands 
of the savages, and impressing on them the necessity of having a certain 
amount of cleared land close by. 

We have not the particulars of this journey of Boone back to Vir- 
ginia ; it is enough to know that it was made in safety, and that his 
heart was gladdened once more to find himself in the arms of his beloved 
wife and children. He resolved, this time, to be separated from them 
no more. He meant, when he returned, to take them along with him. 
Now that the new fort at Boonesborough was completed, and defended 
by an armed and watchful garrison, he felt secure in the thought of 
taking his little brood out into the forest wilds, and knew, too, what a 
blessed influence the presence of wife and children would have over him. 
The path westward was now open ; men and women could go forward in 
it and people the country. 

Boone's wife and daughters were all ready to start. How that jour- 
ney was made, we have, unfortunately, no particular record. Boone 
himself says of it, in his narrative, only this, — that it was "safe, and 
without any other difficulties than such as are common to the passage." 
They stood, at length, on the banks of the Kentucky River. No white 
females had put their feet there before them. Of the women of this 



2S DANIEL BOONE. 

country, they were tlie pioneers ; a young wife, and daughters iu the 
very blush of girlhood and innocence. How rough and hard their wood- 
land life was, it is not easy at this day to imagine. It was an unusual 
thing for anyone then to be taken sick and die iu his own bed ; when 
death overtook men in the forest, it was always a death of violence. In 
illustration of the feelings begotten of such a state of things, the fol- 
lowing impressive incident is related : 

"An old lady, who had been in the forts, was, many years later, 
describing the scenes she had witnessed in those times of peril and 
adventure ; and, among other things, remarked that, during the first two 
years of her residence in Kentucky, the most comely sight she beheld 
was seeing a young man dying in his bed a natural death. She had 
been familiar with blood, and carnage, and death, but in all these cases 
the sufferers were the victims of the Indian tomahawk and scalping- 
knife ; and that on an occasion v/hen a young man was taken sick and 
died after the usual manner of nature, she and the rest of the women sat 
up all night, gazing upon him as an object of beauty I " 

DISASTER TO A COMPANY OF PIONEERS. 

That must indeed have been a rugged way of life which subjected 
women to trials like these ; which made it desirable even to see a person 
die in a bed, because death by the tomahawk and the scalping-knife had 
become so common. 

Boone brought out with him, on this return journey to the fort, 
several of the families that turned back before, when the little party was 
assailed by the Indians. These families knew him well, had seen him 
tried in the fiery furnace of affliction, and were content to repose their 
safety in his keeping. But they had not all gone very far together, 
before they separated. The precise reason for this step is not known,' 
and probably never will be. Boone pushed on, while the remainder, or 
the greater part of them, lagged behind. They lost their way. Theii 
cattle and stock strayed away from them. They were like sheep with- 
out a shepherd. And after many reverses, sufferings, and irritating 



e 




DANIEL BOONE. 29 

iisappointments, they managed at last to reach the fort at Boones- 
borough by the pathway that was marked out for them. They had at 
least learned one lesson by this idle dissatisfaction ; they knew the worth 
d{ the man they had deserted. 

One fort naturally suggested another. Each was the nucleus, or 
:enter, for a wide settlement. This position of Boone being so strong, 
it lent encouragement to the rest to believe they might establish others 
equally strong. So they began to radiate. Pretty soon, there was a fort 
liere, and another fort there ; yet the increase was steady and slow, for 
each new post was, at best, but a rash experiment It was not ao plain, 
even j^et, that the settlements did not exist as much b}'- the leniency of 
the Indians, as by the aid of anything else. Were they disposed, there 
was little doubt that they might at any time have overwhelmed the little 
band of white men with their numbers. 

CAPTURE OF THREE YOUNG GIRLS BY THE INDIANS. 

A circumstance transpired on the 14th of July, 1776, that caused a 
great excitement throughout the settlement. The narrative has alreadj^ 
been well given by Mr. Peck, in his sketch of Boone's life, drawn from 
the statement of John Floyd, and from sources additional ; and we prefer 
to give it in the words of Mr. Peck himself: — 

"On the 14th of July, 1776, Betsey Callaway, her sister Frances, and 
Jemima Boone, a daughter of Captain Daniel Boone, the two last about 
fourteen years of age, carelessly crossed the river opposite to Boones- 
borough in a canoe, at a late hour in the afternoon. The trees and 
shrubs on the opposite bank were thick, and came down to the water's 
edge. The girls, unconscious of danger, were playing and splashing the 
water with the paddles, until the canoe, floating with the current, drifted 
near the shore. Five stout Indians lay there concealed ; one of whom, 
noiseless and stealthy as the serpent, crawling down the bank until he 
reached the rope that hung from the bow, turned its course up the stream, 
and in a direction to be hidden from the fort. The loud shrieks of the 
captured girls were heard, but too late for their rescue. The canoe, their 



80 DANIEL BOONE. 

only means of crossing, was on the opposite shore, and none dared to 
risk the chance of swimming the river, under the impression that a large 
body of savages was concealed in the woods. 

'' Boone and Callaway were both absent, and night set in before their 
return and arrangements could be made for pursuit. Next morning, by 
daylight, we were on the track, but found they had totally prevented our 




CAPTURE OF THE BOONE AND CALLAWAY GIRLS. 

following them, by walking some distance apart through the thickest 
canes they could find. We observed their course, and on which side we 
had left their trail, and traveled upwards of thirty miles. We then 
imagined that they would be less cautious in traveling, and made a turn 
in order to cross their trace, and had gone but a few miles before we found 
their tracks in a buffalo path; pursued and overtook them on going about 
ten miles, '"'*'"^ hey were kindling a fire to cook and get ready for a 
substantiu meal. 



DANIEL BOONE. 81 

" Our study had been more to get the prisoners, without giving the 
Indians time to murder them after they discovered us, than to kill them, 
We discovered each other nearly at the same time. Four of us fired, and 
all rushed on them, which prevented them from carrying away anything 
except one shot-gun, without ammunition. Mr. Boone and myself had a 
pretty fair shot, just as they began to move off. I am well convinced I 
shot one through, and the one he shot dropped his gun ; mine had none. 
The place was very thick with canes, and being' so much elated on recov- 
ering the three little broken-hearted girls, prevented our making further 
search. We sent them off without their moccasins, and not one of them 
with so much as a knife or a tomahawk." 

PREPARING TO MAKE AN ATTACK ON THE SETTLERS. 

It so happened — or else it was so arranged beforehand — that on this 
very same 14th of July on which the three young girls were stolen from 
the vicinity of the fort, the Indians all around had divided their forces 
into distinct parties, and determined to make a series of attacks on the 
different settlements, whenever, and as often, as circumstances would 
allow. They beheld the increase of the white numbers with great jeal- 
ousy. The}^ dreaded, too, the protection the forts gave them. If they 
could be allowed to fight on their own ground, and in their own way, it 
would all be to their advantage ; but this placing the whites under cover 
was something they could not understand. These attacks were kept up 
from that time forward with great regularity. No day was free from sus- 
picion that the Indians were close at hand ; no night was so calm and 
quiet that all slept in their beds without dreams of a stealthy foe in 
their midst, with tomahawk and seal ping-knife brandished above their 
heads. 

Of all the places at which the Indian aimed his hatred, the Boones- 
borough Fort was the chief Here he thought the whole white power 
was centered. Here, too, his British companions-in-arms taught him to 
look for the greatest danger to his rule and his land. Hence he watched 
every movement in its vicinity with a wily temper indeed. Whenever he 



82 



DANIEL BOONE. 



I 



could find tHe occupants of the fort in the least degree exposed, he did 
not fail to make his cruelty felt and remembered. 

There were but three forts in Kentucky at the time of which we 
are speaking ; that at Boonesborough, which was the most important 
one — that at Harrodsburgh— and what was known as Logan's Fort. At 
Boonesborough there was a garrison of but twenty-two men; at Logan's 

Fort of only fifteen ; and Har- 



rodsburgh held sixty -five — 
more than both the others to- 
gether. That is, there were 
only one hundred and two men 
to hold the entire frontier 
against the assaults of Indians 
and British combined ; and by 
the treaties that had been 
formed between the latter and 
the former, it was easy for a 
mixed army to be precipitated 
upon this little handful of 
settlers from the line of posts 
along to the north, that would 
crush them out of existence. 
It is said that about three hun- 
dred of the settlers had gone 
back to Virginia again, either 
disheartened at the prospects, or grown too timid to remain and hold 
their position. This of course entailed more severe service on the few 
who remained at their post ; they were on the watch continually ; all 
had to take their turns, and take them pretty often, too, as they were in 
constant danger from their foes. 

Finally there was a concerted movement among the savages to make 
a descent on the fort at Boonesborough ; they had waited and watched to 
see what the great strength of the pioneers consisted in, and now, having 




SQUAW AND PAPOOSE. 



DANIEL BOONE. 33 

perfectly satisfied themselves, they resolved to surround the whites in a 
body and endeavor to destroy them. The garrison at Boonesborough 
was exceedingly small ; the Indians came down upon them in numbers 
exceeding one hundred. Of course, there was dangerous odds against 
the whites. They made their attack on the 15th of April. It was a 
sudden and terrible one. Their savage natures had been aroused to the 
highest * pitch of excitement. They dashed, like waves upon rocks, 
against the feeble enclosure of the settlers in the wilderness. The forest 
rang again with their shrill shouts and cries. Their lithe and dusky 
forms peopled the solitudes as the white men had never seen them 
peopled before. They came on with the yells of infuriated beasts, strik- 
ing terror into the hearts of all who heard them. 

GENERAL MASSACRE THREATENED. 

It appeared, for a time, as if the little fort was much too frail to 
withstand the wild onset. They behaved as if nothing could keep them 
from pouring in a living stream into the fort, and visiting the little gar- 
rison with a general massacre. The white settlers made sorry work 
among them with their unerring rifles. How many of the savages were 
thus picked off was never known ; for they were careful to conceal their 
losses by carrying off their dead and wounded. Yet it was believed, with 
good reason, that they were sore sufferers. Their unexpected losses 
served to make them still more ferocious. They raved and stormed 
against the entrenched garrison with the fury of desperation. But it was 
to no purpose. The skill and coolness of the white man were more than 
a match for the Indian. 

They sullenly turned their backs, therefore, and plunged into the 

shadows of the wilderness. Now they knew what it was to meet the fire 

of the brave white settlers. It must have tasked them still more to bear 

their dead away with them, especially when so sorely fatigued with the 

results of a vain and bloody assault against a determined foe. That, 

however, was their usual practice, which they would have followed in the 

present case, if it had cost every one of them his life. The evidences of 
3 A PH 



84 



DANIEL BOONE. 



the desperate combat were all around the locality. The garrison, to be 
sure, did not lose but a single man, which was a very slight misfortune 
for them, under such threatening circumstances. 

They must have thought themselves fortunate to remain masters of 
their position. 

The savages were not satisfied with this ; it only whetted their 
appetite f^r more. Like the wolf, having once tasted blood, they would 




INDIAN AMUSEMENTS— CANOE-RACE BETWEEN SQUAWS. 

follow Up their ferocious instincts wherever they led them. The men 
within the fort looked for a speedy renewal of the attack, u r were they 
disappointed in their expectations. The Indians came out of the forest 
in dense and dark legions, on the 4th of July. They numbered a larger 
mass than ever. They came and sat down before the rude fortress as 
for a regular siege, resolved either to fight or starve their determined 
enemy out. The numbers stood about two hundred Indians to one white 
man ; overwhelming odds, truly, and apparently discouraging. 

For forty-eight hours the savages kept up the siege. Bvery white 



DANIEL BOONE. 35 

man's head that was exposed in the least, was during that period in 
imminent danger. They howled and shrieked, they whooped and yelled 
in their barbarous frenzy, expecting that the deadly terror they would 
thus strike into the hearts of the white men within the fort would some- 
how lead to their easier overthrow. The wild beasts themselves, coming 
from their forest lairs, could not have made night more hideous than did 
these Indians, with their unearthly yells and cries. Those within the 
fortress, however, were not inspired with terror, but rather with desperation. 

HEROISM OF THE LITTLE GARRISON. 

Too well they knew that this was their last chance to hold or lose 
all — and they might the latter. The fighting between the opposing parties, 
during the time the place was thus besieged by the Indians, was as close 
as any that had yet occurred. The little garrison came off, however, with 
the loss of but a single man, as in the previous contest ; fewer were 
wounded, too, than before. The courage of Daniel Boone in this 
encounter was especially conspicuous ; he dared all that any brave man 
could dare, and exercised a wariness that made him an equal match even 
for the Indian. 

Soon after this, other settlers began to come into the forts, and were 
received with manifestations of the greatest joy. When a garrison was 
reduced to the dimensions of this, the slightest accession to its numbers 
could not but be hailed with delight. Forty-five men arrived from North 
Carolina, in the last week of July, and a hundred more came from Vir- 
ginia in the latter part of August ; making an accession of valuable men 
to the settlement really worth speaking of All along through the sum- 
mer and into the autumn, they continued to have skirmishes with the 
Indians, but they always came out best from each encounter. There was 
no end, apparently, to the ingenuity practised by the savages in selecting 
the time and mode of their attacks. At any hour of the day, they were 
liable to beset the party of white men hunting in the forest ; and through 
the still night hours there was no cessation from fears of their presence. 

Boone was wary and watchful. The red man himself was not more 



36 DANIEL BOONE. 

than a match for him in that respect. And in addition to this trait of 
caution and judgment, he possessed all the attributes of the highest 
courage. No mere military man could inspire followers with deeper con- 
fidence than he. He never hesitated to lead wherever any dared to follow. 
A man now appeared upon the field, who was destined to play a bril- 
liant and important part in the early history of the western country. His 
name was George R. Clarke. No greater military man has ever asso- 
ciated his name with the annals of our early western settlements. As a 
brave man, he had long been familiarly known in the old Virginia colony, 
and he enjoyed the confidence of Lord Dunmore, the royal Governor, in a 
marked degree. The latter had even offered him a military commission 
under British authority, but that he had nobly declined. 

THREE GARRISONS ENTRENCHED ON THE FRONTIER. 

There were three important garrisons on the northwestern frontier 
that were occupied by the British and Indians — at Detroit, Vincennes, 
and Kaskaskias. The young reader who is not familiar with their loca- 
tion, will do well to make himself acquainted with the same by referring 
to the map. Clarke saw that there was but one way by which to intimi- 
date the savage, and that was by striking a vigorous and decisive blow 
at once. He therefore resolved to make a concerted attack on each of 
these three fortresses, surprising the garrison perhaps into a surrender. 
He wanted bold men to work with him. He looked around to find those 
who, while as cautious and wary as the Indian himself, were still as fear- 
less as lions to go out into an encounter. 

The first thing done by General Clarke was to select and organize a 
board of forest rangers, or spies, who could track their solitary way in 
the deep wilderness, hover on the outskirts of the enemy, and fetch and 
carry reports with the utmost promptness and reliability. The payment 
for their services, it was pledged by Clarke, should be made by Virginia. 
All along the Ohio banks they traveled, taking their lives in their 
hands. The men of our time can have no conception of the perils with 
which they were environed. Clad in their hunting toggery — moccasins, 



DANIEL BOONE. 37 

buckskin breeches, and a hunter's shirt of leather, and armed with the 
keen knife and inseparable rifle, they plunged into dense growths of 
forest, and tracked paths through the close-serried ranks of the cane, 
with the same sense of security with which the savage trod those wildji 
himself The work to be done by the spy, therefore, courageous as it 
was in the largest sense, was attended with a great deal more danger on 
the western frontier, than within range of the enemy's sentinels on the 
Atlantic border in peaceful settlements. 

ROMANTIC STORY OF A WESTERN SCOUT. 

Prominent among all brave and memorable western scouts, or spies, 
is the name of Simon Kenton. He performed a vast deal of invaluable 
work at this particular juncture. There was a secret cause for his thus 
taking to the perils and excitements of a spy among the Indian forts, 
which deserves narration. Boone made choice of him immediately, con- 
fiding to him some of his deepest projects for the reduction of the enemy's 
fortresses and the defence of his own. Of a more sincere and beautiful 
friendship than that which existed between Boone and Kenton, the his- 
tory of no early state, east or west, furnishes any example. The name 
of Simon Kenton — or Simon Butler, as it came to be — is indissolubly 
associated with that of Boone all over the west. Boone's choice of the 
man for the service required, showed the deepest insight on the part of 
the great pioneer. 

Kenton, early in life, was deeply in love with a young woman, who 
failed to return his passion. She preferred another beau to him. This 
was more than the hot blood of the young man could endure. When 
his lady-love called her friends together to witness the ceremony of her 
marriage, Simon Kenton was present, uninvited ; he did not care to be 
invited ; he could witness that ceremony without going through a needless 
form of that kind. Of course his presence created much excitement in 
the bridal party, and, in the custom of those rude times, there was a tussle 
between the successful and unsuccessful young man, which resulted 
rather in the latter' s discomfiture. He vowed vengeance, however, and 



38 DANIEL BOONE. 

watched liis opportunity. It was not long in coming round. The two 
young fellows met. Kenton got the better of his adversary, and used 
him savagely. Supposing he had taken his life, he fled for the shelter of 
the forest. Changing his name to that of Simon Butler, he entered on a 
life of wild excitement and reckless daring, which could be desired by no 
living mortal except, perhaps, to keep down internal excitements 
immeasurably stronger and deeper. There are a great many stories told 
throughout the west, of his extreme sufferings in certain cases, when he 
fell into the hands of the Indians. It is said that he was eight times 
compelled to run the gauntlet, which was no slight undertaking, nor 
holding out many chances of escape finally ; he was three times fastened 
to the stake ; and once he came very near being sacrificed by a blow from 
an axe, or tomahawk ; thus he was in constant danger. 

BOONE'S LIFE SAVED BY A NOTED SPY. 

More than once, Simon Kenton was instrumental in saving Boone's 
life. Kenton was on the watch, one day, standing at the gate of the fort. 
He was about going forth on the service of a spy. His rifle was loaded, 
and he was otherwise equipped for his work. It was quite early in the 
morning. A couple of men belonging to the fort were out in the fields 
not far off, engaged in hoeing. Suddenly Kenton observed that the men 
were fired upon. He knew instantly that Indians were at hand. Finding 
themselves unhurt, the two men started and ran with all speed for the 
fort. The savages followed as rapidly. One of the poor fellows was 
overtaken within a few rods of the fort, and tomahawked in sight of 
Kenton himself The latter put his rifle to his shoulder, drew the trig- 
ger, and the savage who had done the deed fell dead in his tracks. 
Revenge was in swift pursuit. 

The Indians were very bold in approaching so near ; but they had 
learned not to fear the white man, from familiarity with his presence. 
Furthermore, they were there in such strength that the risk they run 
was slight indeed. Boone was within the fort at the time Kenton fired 
his rifle with such effect at the Indian. The sound was an alarm for his 



DANIEL BOONE. 39 

practised ear, and, with ten trusty men, he started off after the savages. 
The latter did not run, but seemed inclined to stand their ground. Boone 
and his little party were speedily fighting in the midst of them. Ken- 
ton's quick eye saw one savage in the act of taking deadly aim at Boone 
himself, and he shot him dead on the spot, before his bullet could per- 
form its fatal errand, and saved the great pioneer. 

BOONE ^VOUNDED IN A DESPERATE FIGHT. 

So sudden was the alarm — it being at an early hour of the morning 
— that Boone had thought only of making an instantaneous sally and driv- 
ing the invaders off with a dash ; he had not stopped to calculate in how 
large force they might be, nor what were the chances of his coming off 
victorious. He was struck aback with surprise, therefore, to find himself 
and his ten followers completely surrounded ! The hostile Indians had 
managed to place themselves in considerable numbers between him and 
the fort ! There was but one way by which he might save himself, and 
that was by rushing furiously against the foe. He made a rush — such 
as only men like him ever dare to attempt — calling out to his followers 
to fire upon the red-skins, and plunge into their ranks. They did as 
they Avere ordered ; and, but for the deadly fire of the Indians themselves, 
who were prepared to resist such an onset, they would have cut their way 
through safely and successfully. The Indians fired simultaneously with 
the rush the party made at them. 

Boone himself was wounded, and fell to the ground. Six others, 
also, received bullets from the savages' guns. An Indian at once dashed 
forward as the white men fell, and raised his tomahawk to knock out the 
brains of the prostrate Pioneer ; but the keen eye of Kenton was upon 
him, and an unerring ball followed the course of the eye in a twinkling. 
Down came the Indian to the ground, biting the dust in the agony of 
death. Kenton was proving himself invaluable. Boone was carried into 
the fort with his leg broken ; the rest were also got in with great haste, 
and then the gates were shut fast against the foe. The Pioneer never 
forgot the obligations he owed to his generous preserver. It is true, he 



40 



DANIEL BOONE. 



could not give them expression, except in words, yet they lived none 
the less deeply in his large and noble heart. 

This is but one of the many similar scenes that were enacted at that 




NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS IN COSTUME. 

time on the frontiers of Kentucky. There was hardly any life but that 
which comprised alarms and surprises. All labor outside the fort was 




ADMIRAL JOHN PAUL JONES 



DANIEL BOONE. 41 

performed only under tlie protection of well armed guards, and at partic- 
ular hours of the day. The land was held at the greatest possible cost, 
both of labor and endurance. Men slept on their rifles. They did not 
stir out without them. A watchful guard had to be kept all the time, 
lest a wily red fellow might by some chance stealthily creep up and sur- 
prise them. There were skirmishes, too, continually. Scarcely a week 
passed over, without one or more of them. 

Having been shut in for so many months in the fort without the 
means of making their usual sallies out for provisions of this and that 
sort, it naturally fell out that the garrison began pretty soon to suffer 
from the lack of salt. They could not live much longer, at least in a 
state of comparative health, unless they could procure salt. They well 
knew of certain places along the course of the streams, where salt was 
to be had in plenty, the wild beasts of the forest having revealed to them 
the important secret in the first place. Accordingly an expedition was 
planned to procure at these places the much needed commodity. 

WENT WITH TRUSTY RIFLES AND BRAVE HEARTS. 

When a measure of this sort was to be taken, Boone was the man 
all ready to enlist in it. A party of men, all abundantly armed, was 
made up for the expedition. Thirty men set forth. They knew full well 
what they were about to undertake, and went prepared with trusty rifles 
and stout hearts. Their destination was to what was known as the Blue 
Licks, one of the most famous and valuable places for the free production 
of salt known in Kentucky. There was many a fierce and bloody con- 
flict fought at and near this: place, and the entire neighborhood forms 
one of the most important of all the localities that helped make up, for 
Kentucky, the title of the "dark and bloody ground." 

Splendid hotels, with numerous out-buildings, occupy the spot now, 
attracting to it the most gay and fashionable of all the pleasure-seekers 
of the land. It would hardly be recognized as the same spot which orig- 
inated so many bloody encounters between the white settler and the 
ferocious red man of the forest. 



42 DANIEL BOONE. 

After a cautious and quite slow march — necessarily so, because of 
tbe unseen dangers tHat lurked everywliere around them — Boone and 
his brave little band of thirty men arrived in safety, and without the 
loss of a single one of their number, at the place, and began immediate 
operations. They set their salt kettles in which to evaporate the water 
from the spring, and went about the task of manufacturing the salt 
required for the use of the garrison. It was important that the work 
should be done with great dispatch, for the moment the Indians found 
out what they were at, there would come an end to their operations. 

SCENE COMMEMORATED IN OUR CAPITOL. 

Sundry exciting incidents occurred while this little party were at 
the springs, and among the rest one which our government has thought 
worthy of preservation in stone, in a sculptured group ornamenting the 
rotunda of the Capitol at Washington. Evidently the story has been 
made to fit the well known character of Boone, but we tell it in the very 
words it has been told in before : 

" Boone, instead of taking part in the diurnal and uninterrupted 
labor of evaporating the water, performed the more congenial duty of 
hunting to keep the company in provisions while they labored. In this 
pursuit, he had one day wandered some distance from the bank of the 
river. Two Indians, armed with muskets — for they had now generally 
added these efficient weapons to their tomahawks — came upon him. His 
first thought was to retreat. But he discovered, from their nimbleness, 
that this was impossible. His second thought was resistance, and he 
slipped behind a tree to await their coming within rifle-shot. He then 
exposed himself, so as to attract their aim. The foremost leveled his 
musket. Boone, who could dodge the flash at the pulling of the trigger, 
dropped behind his tree unhurt. The next object was to cause the fire 
of the second musket to be thrown away in the same manner. He again 
exposed part of his person, a daring thing to do according to our present 
ideas, but we must remember that the muskets of those days were the 
old-fashioned flint-lock. 



DANIEL BOONE. 



43 



" The eager Indian instantly fired, and Boone evaded the shot as 
before. Both the Indians, having thrown away their fire, were eagerly 
striving, but with trembling hands, to reload. Trepidation and too much 
haste retarded their object. Boone drew his rifle, and one of them fell 
dead. The two antagonists, now on equal ground, the one unsheathing 
his knife, and the other poising his tomahawk, rushed toward the dead 
body of the fallen Indian. Boone, placing his foot on the dead body, 




DANIEL BOONE'S FIGHT WITH THE SAVAGES. 

dexterously received the well-aimed tomahawk of his powerful enemy on 
the barrel of his rifle, thus preventing his skull from being cloven by it. 
In the very attitude of striking, the Indian had exposed his body to the 
knife of Boone, who plunged it in his body to the hilt, and was again 
the hero in a personal encounter." 

A party of Indians who were on their way to capture the fort at 
Boonesborough came suddenly upon Boone while hunting in the woods 
near the salt springs. Seeing that resistance was useless, he was com- 



44 DANIEL BOONE. 

pelled to surrender himself and his little band, who were fortunate 
enough to escape being killed, as they probably would have been if they 
had engaged in a fight with the red men. Instead of going forward to 
capture the fort, as they could easily have done, since there were few to 
defend it, the Indians marched their prisoners to Chillicothe, which was 
their leading settlement in that section. 

BOONE AND HIS COMPANIONS SENT TO DETROIT. 

Desirous of acquainting their white allies, the British, with the 
results of their prowess, the Indians sent off Boone and ten chosen men 
of the captured party through the wilderness, and across rivers and 
creeks, to the British fort at Detroit, General Hamilton was in command 
at that noted place, and it is charged that, in obedience to the spirit of 
the alliance then existing between the British and Indians, he had offered 
large sums of money for all the scalps of the white men that the Indians 
might bring in. He has the credit, however, of humanely telling the 
savages that he preferred living prisoners to scalps, which was so much 
in his favor when sentiments so civilized were not in the fashion. 

They were about three weeks in making the journey, which they did 
with some dif&culty. Boone all the while pretended to be contented with 
his lot, and thus deceived his captors the more. Little is recorded of the 
journey itself; he is mute respecting it. Arrived at Detroit, he became 
at once the observed of all. Hamilton, the British commander, knew 
much about him, because he could not well help knowing in what esteem 
he had been held by Governor Dunmore, of Virginia. The of&cers and sol- 
diers showed him many personal attentions, which he greatly prized, and 
repeatedly placed their funds at his disposal. He was escorted around 
wherever he chose to go in the neighborhood, by his Indian guides, all 
the while professing himself satisfied with his new fortunes. Hamilton 
offered the Indians as large a sum as one hundred pounds sterling, or 
five hundred dollars, for his ransom, but the Indians refused the offer 
unconditionally. They knew how valuable a prize they had in the per- 
son of the Pioneer of Kentucky. 



DANIEL BOONE. 45 

He stayed at Detroit for a montli, at no time betraying the least dis- 
content or desire to escape. The Indians were anxious to adopt him, 
knowing what valuable service he could render them, and he appeared 
to be quite agreeable to their wishes. He knew his only safety depended 
upon his falling in apparently with all their plans. They finally returned 
with him to their old village of Chillicothe, arriving there after a long 
and tedious journey. Boone says, in his biography, he was well treated 
by the Indians, made himself friendly with them, was adopted, according 
to their custom, into a family, where he became a son, and had a great 
share in the affection of his new parents, brothers, sisters and friends, 
yet all the time feeling extreme anxiety concerning the fate of ■*'.he fort 
at B'^ones borough and watching an opportunity to escape. 

CEREMONY OF ADOPTION INTO AN INDIAN FAMILY. 

In order to become a member of the tribe, and particularly to be 
admitted into the family of the chieftain, he was obliged to go through 
certain ceremonies that must have cost his feelings a large sacrifice ; but 
he considered the object to be gained more than anything else. They 
took him and plucked out, spear by spear, all the hair from his head, 
with the exception of a single lock on the top of the skull, called the 
tuft-lock, which was about three inches in diameter ; then they put him 
through the process of having the white blood washed out of him ; next 
he was carried to the council house, where he listened to a set speech, 
setting forth the dignity of his new character, and the services expected 
of him as the son of a chief, and the member of the tribe. Finally he 
submitted himself to be painted all about the face, in most fantastic 
devices, and then he sat down with the rest of them to a feast, and to the 
pipe, which is symbolic of peace and fraternity. Boone's best friend 
would not have been likely to recognize him, had he seen him thus 
metamorphosed. 

Every day he studied how he might make his preparations most 
skillfully for escape. The Indians kept a close watch on him, though 
he believed they had confidence in his integrity. When they gave him 



46 



DANIEL BOONE. 



bullets with whicli to go out on liis hunting excursions, they were care- 
ful to count them, and observe on his return if he had secreted any for 
his own use in the future. But even here Boone was too shrewd for 
them ; for he would use but slight charges of powder, and the bullets he 
would cut in two. Besides sending him out to hunt and bring in wild 
game for them, the savages set him at work making salt ; this they knew 
he could do, for when he was surprised and captured by them, he was 




INDIANS PAINTING WHITE MEN. 

with a party that were engaged in this very occupation.. There were 
salt springs on the Scioto River, and thither he was forced to go and 
manufacture this indispensable commodity for his dusky captors. The 
Indian was too proud to do menial work, and therefore left it for his 
squaws and his captives. Boone did not in any one point disappoint 
their expectations. He worked industriously and cheerfully ; he pro- 
duced liberal supplies of the article they wanted, and they bestowed on 
him their praise for his valuable services. 



DANIEL BOONE. 



47 



All this time, they were without their old leader at the fort at 
Boouesborough. More than four months had elapsed already, and noth- 
ing had been heard of him. Presently, however, news arrived in a round- 
about way at Boouesborough that their leader had been carried off to 
Detroit. That was all they could learn of his fate. They supposed now 
that he was altogether in the hands of the British, and that the Indians 
would have no more to do with him. And not having heard further 
respecting his disposal, the general 
conclusion was that he had been car- 
ried still further away into the wilds 
of Canada. Little thought they that, 
at that very hour, he was so near them, 
the adopted son of a powerful Shawa- 
nese Chief, and secretly plotting how 
he couid best get back to them again ! 
But, without Boone, they seemed to 
give up all ; he had so long been 
their guiding spirit, animating them 
to exertion, that when he was lost, 
all seemed to be lost with him. Hence 
they fell off in their watchfulness 
against the enemy, and even suffered 
the fort itself^the last hope and stay r^\^..^^^^^^"*^ ■ 
of their existence — to be neglected. SHAWANESE chief. 

Satisfied in her own mind that she should not hear from her husband 
again, the wife of Daniel Boone started off with her little family — except- 
ing one daughter — for the home of her parents in North Carolina. She 
made the journey on horseback, carrying her few effects along with her 
the best way she could. It was a sorrowful journey indeed for her. Since 
coming out into the western country, she had sacrificed her eldest boy 
and lost her husband. Were there anything now left to stay for, she 
would willingly have remained on the frontier ; but she despaired of ever 
seeing her husband again, and the condition of the settlers at Boones- 




48 DANIEL BOONE. 

borougli was fast becoming so precarious tliat she could not but see tlie 
folly of staying only to tbrow her life away. Safely, though slowly, that 
brave woman, with her little brood about her, found her way back through 
the frowning wilderness, hundreds of miles, to Carolina. Few of her sex 
could be found willing to undertake such a journey even in these times ; 
what is to be thought of the courage of her who freely set out on it, in 
times of peril like that, when the forest was alive with dangers from sav- 
age and beast, and not even a regular trail was to be followed from one 
point to another ? Surely, that she was entirely worthy of her noble 
husband. She arrived home in safety, as every reader is glad to know. 

SAVAGES PREPARE TO CAPTURE THE FORT. 

To return to Boone himself When he had finished making salt and 
gone back to the Indian settlement at Chillicothe, he was not a little sur- 
prised to find that his captors had been making preparations, in his 
absence, to proceed in full force against the fort at Boonesborough. There 
were four hundred and fifty of their bravest warriors, all ready to set out 
on the expedition. This fact caused him to hasten his plans. He began 
to hurry now, where he had acted leisurely before. But it would not 
answer for him to betray the least anxiety, or even suspicion ; therefore 
he pretended not to notice that anything appeared different to him from 
what was usual. 

In this way he could overhear the whole of their talk, and get at the 
meaning of their plans. They had no idea, either, that he had so good 
a knowledge of their language ; but Daniel Boone was a man who put 
everything that came in his way to good use, at one time or another. 
He heard them talk of the weakness of the fort at that particular time ; 
of the carelessness with which it was garrisoned ; of the neglect into 
which it had fallen ; and of their expectations to surprise and capture it 
beyond the possibility of a doubt. No one can imagine with what pangs 
his heart was visited, for he believed that at the fort were still his wife 
and children ; still he was forced to appear perfectly calm, or all would 
be lost. It was a trial such as very few men could go through. Nay, 



DANIEL BOONE. 49 

more and harder than this ; he had even to flatter and cajole the rascals 
whenever they did something which they deemed worthy of praise. 
Even upon the preparations that were making all around him for this 
very enterprise, he was forced to look with complacency and apparent 
satisfaction. 

He knew he must escape, and that speedily. Yet with the utmost 
caution. A single hasty movement, a single false step, however slight, 
would betray all. The i6th of June came. Up to that very day, the 
Indians had felt no suspicion of his intention. On that morning he was 
going out again, with their consent to engage in hunting. He rose 
early, took his gun, secreted a small piece of venison to allay hunger, 
and started off. His heart swelled, courageous as it always was, to think 
of the great risk he was running. They would easily overtake him, if 
they should suspect for what he had gone forth ; and once overtaken, his 
doom was sealed. They would never have permitted him to live to 
deceive them again. He was intensely excited, and yet he kept cool. 
To get a fair start was his great object. He knew quite as much of 
the wilderness as they, and would not be afraid to trust his own skill in 
woodcraft against theirs. He was in the prime of life, too, fresh and 
active ; and he felt no fear, great as were the odds against him, unless it 
should come from some unforeseen mischances. 

FAST JOURNEY TOWARD THE FORT. 

For four days and nights he kept traveling, always in the direction 

of the fort, and, in the course of that time, he said that he ate but a single 

meal ! The distance to Boonesborough was one hundred and sixty miles. 

This was at the rate of about forty miles a day. The single meal eaten 

by him on the road consisted of a wild turkey that he shot himself, after 

he had got safely across the Ohio River. When once he had passed 

this dividing line, he began to feel more at his ease, though still anxious, 

and all the time steadily pushing forward for the fort. It was his great 

care, too, to mislead his pursuers, or throw them off the trail ; this cost 

him much trouble. He swam rivers, forded creeks, waded through 
4 APH 



50 



DANIEL BOONE. 



swamps and marslies, and found his way through forests and almost 
impenetrable canebreaks. He listened to every sound, lest it might be a 
dusky pursuer. He was no swimmer, or at least a very indifferent one, 
and he doubted if he should be able to cross the Ohio safely, especially 

as its current was much 
swollen at that season of 
the year. 

But when he came 
to that great strea^ri; flow- 
ing on so majestically, he 
had the luck to find a 
canoe that had drifted 
into the bushes on the 
bank near by, into which 
he jumped with no sort 
of ceremony ; and he 
paddled himself to the 
opposite shore as fast as 
ever boat was propelled 
by oars before. It is said 
there was a hole in one 
end of the canoe, but that 
he manged to stop ef- 
fecually, and in a very 
reasonable time. It was 
INDIAN CHIEF AND HIS WIGWAM. certainly providential 

that it happened to be hidden there in the bushes, and so he recog- 
nized the incident. When he reached the fort at last, and duly made 
himself known to his former comrades, they looked upon him as upon 
one risen from the dead. He was some time engaged in satisfying them 
of his identity, and afterwards in narrating his story from beginning 
to end. 

It grieved him to learn that his wife and children had gone, but it 




DANIEL BOONE. 51 

was too late to help that. He set about directing the needed repairs for 
the fort, knowing far better than the garrison what were the preparations 
making, and what now were the many times heightened motives for 
investing and destroying it. All his energy was brought to bear upon 
this single thing. Where it was weak — at the gates, the flankers, the post- 
erns, or the bastions — he made it strong again. He infused into the 
settlers an activity and enthusiasm they had not displayed since the 
days when he used to arouse them to exertion before. 

PREPARED FOR A HEROIC DEFENSE. 

In the short space of ten days they were all right again, ready to 
receive any sort of a visit — outside, of course — which their old enemies 
might think best to make. This time he felt sure that the fort would 
be compelled to stand a siege it had never passed through before. He 
had seen with his own eyes the large preparations made by the Indians 
to invest and capture it. He had heard their talk about the matter with 
his own ears, and could not be deceived. Hence he well knew that when 
the next wave rolled in upon them, it would be the most terrible of any 
that had hitherto given them a shock. Against this he was bound to 
make all possible preparation. Besides suspecting what he did, he had, 
it seems, heard directly from the Indians at Chillicothe. One of his com- 
rades had made his escape also, and came in with fresh reports of what 
the Indians were doing. They were all up in arms about his having 
left them in the style in which he did, and vowed vengeance on his 
devoted head for having so thoroughly deceived them. They held a 
great council forthwith. The matter was fully debated. It would not 
do to let a prisoner like that escape. They would teach him that the 
pride of the red man could not thus be offended with impunity. 

They, in their turn, too, were informed how the improvements in 
the fort went on. It was evident to them that the old hand of the mas- 
ter was there again. The intelligence of the strengthening of the white 
man's fortress excited them inexpressibly. They were impatient to be 
off, and make the assault they were resolved upon. They knew that 



52 DANIEL BOONE. 

everj^ day's delay now only added to tlie white man's strengtli. The 
talk was long and earnest. It was obvious to them that they had no 
common enemy to deal with now, and they remembered that he was 
familiar with all their habits, their customs, and their weaknesses. He 
had shown the Indian, if no other white man had done it before him, 
that he was more than a match for him on his own ground, that he was 
acquainted with his tricks and traps, and knew how to keep himself out 
of them ; and the Indian with all his boasted cunning, must needs be on 
the alert, or he would suddenly find himself outwitted by the very enemy 
he pretended to hold in such contempt and disdain. 

INDIANS RESOLVE TO MASSACRE THE WHITES. 

After Boone's escape the Indians formed the grand plan of extermi- 
nating the v/hites altogether. To accomplish a purpose so fell as this, 
required the active strength of the entire nation. They rallied far and 
near. All their braves, young and old, assembled in force, prepared to 
carry out the plan proposed. From this Indian village and that they 
came in, duly equipped for the bloody enterprise. The old Shawanese 
sachem — he who had adopted Boone as his own son — was at the head. 
His heart could never consent to forgive the deceit that had been prac- 
ticed upon it by his pale-faced son. If he could taste the sweetness of 
revenge now, he would feel in a degree compensated for what his pride 
had suffered. It did not take a long time, therefore, for the village at 
Chillicothe to fill up with recruits. 

Boone was on the alert. He knew the character of the foe, and the 
necessity of timely preparation against their approach. He had made 
the fort strong and whole again, and felt assured that it was capable of 
offering an irresistible defence against them. And thus prepared, he 
sallied out with a party of nineteen men, determined to oppose them even 
before they reached Boonesborough. He would fain surprise their scout- 
ing parties, and perhaps cut them off ! It was a plan entirely character- 
istic of Boone, and worthy of his tried courage and boldness. Instead 
of waiting for them to come to him, he would go out to them. In this 



DANIEL BOONE, 



53 



sally from the fort, lie and his party traversed a distance of one hundred 
and sixty miles. They struck off for the Scioto River, near which they 




FLIGHT OF THE INDIANS. 

suddenly fell in with a party of thirty Indians, who were on their way 
down to join the main body of the enemy at Chillicothe. 



54 DANIEL BOONE. 

The place where they met was at an Indian village on a creek known 
as Paint Creek. A battle was at once fought between the two parties. 
Boone proved more than a match for the red-skins, whom he compelled to 
flee with the loss of one of their number killed, and two wounded. The 
fellows made rapid tracks for their friends at Chillicothe, bearing along 
with them the unwelcome tidings of the affray. Of course the Indian 
leaders there were astonished beyond measure to learn that their old 
enemy had shown boldness enough to come out from the fort and offer 
them battle. Nothing now was thought of but to go forth, and overtake 
and destroy him, and all his men. 

THE ENEMY APPEAR IN FULL FORCE. 

But Boone was prepared for a movement like this. He had no idea 
of being caught away from home by the main body of the Indian forces. 
Having once tested the quality of his men in an open fight in the forest, 
he was quite satisfied to retire with them to the advantages of shelter 
again. They had tasted danger outside, and the Indians, too, had been 
taught a wholesome lesson ; and that was all Boone wanted. It was some- 
thing, at least, to show the savages that they need not consider them- 
selves safe from assault in any place, or at any time. Having compelled 
them to abandon their little settlement at Paiut Creek, and leave their 
baggage, together with several horses, behind them, he was for the time 
satisfied. He was absent but a single week on this warlike excursion, 
in which time he had struck terror into the very heart of the enemy. 

As soon as he reached the entrenchments of the fort again, Boone 
put the entire garrison on the look-out for the foe ; it was certain now 
that they would soon be there. The men at the fort waited and watched 
patiently. They were soon ^ repaid, too, for their trouble. Before long, the 
wilderness was alive with Indians, all armed for the final struggle. They 
came prepared to blot the settlement at Boonesborough out of existence. 
Their faces were painted after the most hideous fashion, and their bodies 
were clad with the most unique and oddly-assorted apparel. They came 
and sat down before the fort in full strength. The forest resounded with 



DANIEL BOONE. 55 

their hideous yells and war-whoops. Stalwart forms appeared from the 
distant shadows, every one the impersonation of hatred and revenge. 
They scowled the defiance they might in vain have tried to speak. On 
the right hand and the left, and far away in the front, these native war- 
riors threw out their terrible threats. Boone felt that hope had gone — 
except it came through exertion. It was idle to expect quarter from an 
enemy that had been so many times baffled. If they once effected an 
entrance within their fortified enclosure, there was an end of all things 
earthly for them. It was truly a dismal contingency to contemplate, but 
it doubtless lent fresh courage to the settlers, for it was the terrible 
courage that is born of despair, that dies, but never surrenders. 

GARRISON CALLED ON TO SURRENDER. 

The commander of this body of Indians was none other than Du 
Ouesne himself, who gave a name to a fort which will ever go with our 
history, and with which that of Washington himself is associated. Black- 
fish, the Shawanese sachem, held command with, not under him. There 
were about four hundred and fifty Indians in the besieging force, and a 
dozen Canadians. 

The little fort that was the object of all this preparation, garrisoned 
but sixty-five men. So few against so many ; seven outside, against one 
inside ! What a forlorn hope indeed did they entertain ! There were help- 
less women and children within the walls to protect, too. They all waited 
for the first movement to be made. 

It was made ; but very differently from the stereotyped Indian 
method. Instead of rushing at the gates with their hideous whoops and 
yells, a different course was pursued. The savages adopted the method 
of the white armies in cases of siege, and sat down and asked the garrison 
to surrender, sending a messenger to the fort with that modest request. 
Boone answered that he wanted two days in which to consider. It appears 
that, as soon as he knew of the straits to which he was likely to be 
reduced, he despatched a messenger to the East, describing his condition, 
and soliciting immediate aid. It was to Col. Arthur Campbell that he 



56 DANIEL BOONE. 

sent tlie request, and within the two days specified lie would be likely to 
hear from him. It was simply to gain time, therefore, that he put ofi" an 
answer to the summons. If Campbell should happen to come forth from 
the forest unexpectedly to the Indians, then he could himself sally out 
and attack them from the front, while the force of Campbell would fall 
upon them from the rear ; and between the two fires, their strength must 
melt away. Military men wonder at the motive that could have induced 
Du Quesne to consent to the terms tendered by the garrison ; yet it is 
possible that he thought he might obtain by diplomacy what he was not 
so certain to secure by assault, and the glory would be greater. At any 
rate, he influenced Blackfish and his party to wait the two days asked 
for by Boone, which was all that was wanted. Meantime, too, the garrison 
could complete the arrangements necessary for sustaining still more 
successfully the threatened siege. 

READY FOR A LONG SIEGE. 

Du Quesne certainly showed a humane spirit. He allowed the 
women and children, in the interval, to go out and get water from the 
spring, with which to help along existence during the trial that was before 
them. The cattle, too, were all got in through the posterns — a very 
necessary assistance in carrying the garrison through the siege. But 
Boone himself was very careful to give the enemy no advantage ; especially 
was he solicitous that they should not capture his own person, for then 
the whole object of the expedition would be over. Hence, while he freely 
exposed himself to their sight, he was careful to remain under protection 
of the fort. In his going out and coming in, he became quite familiar 
with the enemy, many of whom knew him well at the Chillicothe village 
and would have been glad enough to lay their hands on him now. 

But the time grew short. The two days were nearly spent. No 
Colonel Campbell yet, emerging with succor from the shadows of the 
forest. The answer was to be finally given. All the good that could be 
gained by the delay, had already been gained ; the garrison had been 
supplied with beef and water to stand the test and trial of a long siege. 



DANIEL BOONE. 57 

He saw now that lie must act ; words were idle. So he collected his little 
handful of men around him, and asked them which they preferred — resist- 
ance or surrender. He knew for himself that surrender was certain death, 
and resistance, at the worst, could be no more ; yet he deferred to the 
opinions of the others. They were all ready with their answer ; they 
would resist till the last hour of their lives — they would never capitulate. 
Death itself was preferable to disgrace of that character. 

Therefore they made ready to fight. They understood how much 
more numerous the enemy were than themselves, but they would fight, 
nevertheless. The commander of the besieging force demanded his 
answer. Boone stood boldly on the ramparts and gave it — "We will fight 
so long as a man lives to fight, " said he. It was enough. The die was 
cast. From that moment their lives depended on a successful resistance. 
It was said that the bold and brave manner of Boone struck dismay into 
their hearts. At any rate, their leaders must have seen how foolish they 
were in permitting the garrison to provision themselves as thoroughly 
as they did. But the siege did not begin even then. Du Quesne was not 
willing to give up his arts of diplomacy, thinking he might yet win by mere 

words. 

PROPOSAL FOR TREATY ACCEPTED. 

So he returned a reply to Boone's answer, telling him that Governor 
Ham. ..on, at Detroit, wished to make prisoners of the garrison, but not 
to destroy them, and he requested him to send out nine men from the 
fort to make a treaty, in which case the forces outside would be with- 
drawn, and all would go back home without any trouble. In his account 
of the affair, Boone says, " This sounded grateful to our ears, and we 
agreed to the proposal." He agreed to it because he knew that Hamilton 
felt friendly towards him, and he further knew that if they fell into the 
hands of the besiegers as regular prisoners, there was no hope for their 
lives. 

On consultation, it was resolved to select the nine men desired and 
send them out. Boone, of course, was at their head. His brother was 
likewise of the party. The very best men of the garrison, in fact, were 



58 DANIEL BOONE. 

tlie ones selected. Yet they determined not to go beyond the protection of 
the fort itself. The distance they ventured was one hundred and twenty 
feet from the walls. The accurate shooters of the garrison, with sure 
rifles at their shoulders, held their muzzles in such a position as to 
protect them. The leading men of the opposite party came up on the 
same ground. It was plain, however, that they took precaution to protect 
themselves as much as the others. There they met, professedly with 
only peaceful intentions, but in reality dreading each the power and 
threats of the other, and entertaining mutual suspicions. 

BASE TREACHERY OF THE INDIANS. 

The Canadian captain proposed the terms. In order to test the 
sii^.erity of the besiegers, and for nothing more, Boone and his party 
consented to sign them outright, even though the conditions were such 
as they well knew they could not agree to. Boone employed the occasion 
as a mere ruse, in order to find out their real meaning and intention. The 
treaty, therefore, was signed. Blackfish, the old Shawanese chief, then 
rose and commenced a speech. The Indians came forward at the same 
moment. He said it was customary, on the conclusion of a treaty of 
peace, for the parties to the treaty to come and shake hands with one 
another. Boone and his other eight men were alive to suspicion, but still 
they consented to go through with the ceremony. 

The moment hands were joined, a signal was given by Black- 
fish, by previous concert, and three Indians sprang forward to each 
white man, to make a captive. But, fortunately, the whites were fully 
prepared for them. They broke away from the grasp of professed 
friendship, and ran for the fort. A general firing began. The party 
stationed at the fort let off their guns to protect their fleeing comrades, 
and the Indians commenced firing in return. Boone had thus unmasked 
their whole scheme, and had literally drawn their fire. Their entire 
plan was now exposed. The brother of Boone, Squire Boone, was 
wounded, but all the rest escaped as by a miracle. Nine men out of the 
jaws of four hundred and sixty ! It was indeed a miracle. 



DANIEL BOONE. 59 

Having secured their retreat within the fort, and closely shut and 
fastened the gates, they made instant readiness to sustain the worst that 
might come. And immediately, too, the siege began in good earnest. 
The Canadian and the Indian united their skill and perseverance. For 
nine days and nights this trial proceeded. It is impossible to convey to 
the reader any proper idea of what the garrison in that time went 
through. They were few in numbers, and their hopes were feeble. 
They were far from their friends, far from all succor and sympathy. 
The enemy could keep constant watch, and not suffer ; but if the gar- 
rison watched, as they must, they were so few that all would be likely 
in the end to be exhausted. Every man during that memorable siege 
of nine days, proved himself a hero. The great West knows not how 
much it owes to the exertions of these same brave pioneers, who were 
willing and ready to endure so much. The firing of bullets from the 
outside was incessant ; it literally rained bullets, by the hour at a time. 

FURIOUS FIGHTING ON BOTH SIDES. 

But the men in the fort were prudent, and used their ammunition 
onl}^ to the best advantage. They fired only when they were pretty sure 
to hit. The savages sheltered themselves as well as they could in the 
belt of the forest hard by, but even then the marksmen within the fort 
were much too sure for them. To show the amount of ammunition 
used by the foe, it is only necessary to note what Boone himself said 
about it, "that after they were gone, we picked up one hundred and 
twenty-five pounds of bullets, besides what stuck in the logs of our fort, 
which certainly is a great proof of their industry." 

It is related among the incidents of the siege, that a negro had 
deserted from the fort, who was known to be skilled in the use of the 
rifle. Anxious to commend himself to his newly-found friends, he 
climbed into a tree, and began to do serious execution. Boone 
heard what was going on, and looked out for the fellow. As soon 
as he saw his head, he fired a bullet into it, and the negro fell 
dead to the ground. Boone's daughter also was wounded — the only 



60 DANIEL BOONE. 

one who had remained behind when her mother set out on her return 
to Carolina. 

At length, exasperated to find that they could gain no advantage 
thus, the savages resolved to try another plan. They set fire to the fort ! 
The flames were soon spreading ! Whatever was done, must be done 
instantly. A young man was bold and brave enough to risk his life in 
the attempt to quench the flames. He succeeded in his effort. The fort 
was saved. Seeing this, the Indians thought they might as well give it 
all up. They took counsel among themselves forthwith, and resolved 
to withdraw without delay. There was no use in keeping up the attempt 
to subdue an enemy who the Great Spirit had willed, should not be sub- 
dued. But before they withdrew, they resorted to one expedient more. 
They attempted to undermine the fort. Boone, however, was on the 
alert, and foiled them with a counter-mine. They felt that they were 
vanquished, and gave it up. 

VICTORY AFTER A FEARFUL SIEGE. 

The siege had lasted in all, from the 8th to the 2otli day of August. 
It was a memorable affair in the history of the West, and cannot be 
dwelt on too long or too often by those who, in this day, enjoy the bene- 
fits that were secured to them by these bravest of all pioneers. Nothing 
more desperate in all history is recorded, when we take into account the 
circumstances of the time, and the several incidents of the occasion. 
To the last day of their lives, the men who participated in these stirring 
scenes were wont to recall them with expressions of the deepest emotion. 
They could never forget the fearful trials to which, in that brief time, they 
were subjected. 

The savages went their own way. They hated to give over their 
darling design to make a captive of the man who was the acknowledged 
life and soul of the settlement, knowing very well the sort of man they had 
once had in their hands. But it seemed they were not fated to have him 
in their power very soon again. All their plans had certainly failed to 
retake him. They vanished as they had come. 



DANIEL BOONE. 61 

Tlie brief and modest statement of the Pioneer, after the siege of 
Boonesborough was raised, is as follows : " Soon after tbis, I went into 
the settlement, and nothing worthy of place in this account passed in 
my affairs for some time." His successful holding out at the fort, how- 
ever, was an act memorable enough of itself to answer for his lifetime ; 
for, had this little frontier fortress gone, with the clouds of misfortune 
that were gathering over the American cause in the Atlantic States, 
there is no telling if it would have been possible to recover from the 
blow at all. More depended on this very defense of Boonesborough than 
the careless reader of our history is aware of. 

He says of himself again : "Shortly after the troubles at Boones- 
borough, I went to my family, and lived peaceably there. The history 
of my going home (to North Carolina) and returning with my family, 
forms a series of difficulties, an account of which would swell a volume, 
and, being foreign to my purpose, I omit them." 

On the admission of Kentucky to the Union, Boone lost his property 
for want of formal titles, and retired in 1798 in disgust into the wilderness 
of Missouri, which did not become United States territory till 1803. In 
181 2 his claim to a tract of land was allowed in recognition of his services, 
but when the territory was ceded by Spain to the United States it was 
found that his title was not valid, on account of his failure to have it prop- 
erly recorded. 

He died at Charette, on the Missouri River, September 26, 1820. 




CHAPTER 11. 

KIT CARSON. 

FAMOUS TRAPPER AND GUIDE — DARING EXPLOITS 
IN THE WEST — ENCOUNTERS WITH THE INDIANS 
— A PICTURESQUE HORSEMAN AND HUNTER- 
VALUABLE SERVICES AS EXPLORER. 

There are men wHo are exactly fitted for a rough, wild, pioneer life. 
They are at home amidst dangers and perilous expeditions. Strong in 
body, superb in courage, reckless to some extent, and ever ready for any 
difficult undertaking, they lead where other men scarcely dare to follow. 

Such a man was Kit Carson, whose many adventures form a thrill- 
ing history, and whose name will always be associated with the march 
of civilization toward the shores of the Pacific. He was a man of great 
courage, daring intrepidity, heroic bearing, and wonderful nerve and 
endurance. If he had been a bandit and robber, instead of a trusty and 
brave guide, he would have terrorized half a continent. 

Christopher Carson, familiarly known under the appellation of Kit 

Carson, was one of the most extraordinary men of the present era. His 

fame has long been established throughout this country and Europe, as 

a most skilful and intrepid hunter, trapper, guide and pilot of the prairies 

and mountains of the far West, and Indian fighter. But his celebrity 

in these characters is far surpassed by that of his individual personal 

traits of courage, coolness, fidelity, kindness, honor, and friendship. The 

theatre of his exploits was extended throughout the whole western portion 

of the territory of the United States, from the Mississippi to the Pacific, 

and his associates were some of the most distinguished men of the present 
62 



KIT CARSON. 



63 



age, to all of whom he became an object of affectionate regard and marked 
respect. 

It appears, from the various declarations of those most intimate with 
Christopher Carson, as well as from a biography published a number of 
years before his death, that he was a native of Madison county, Kentucky, 
and was born on the 24th of December, 1809. Colonel Fremont, in his 
exhaustive and interesting report of his Exploring Expedition to Oregon 
and North California, in 1843-44, says that Carson was a native of Boons- 




OLD HOME OF THE FAMOUS GUIDE, KIT CARSON. AT TAOS, NEW MEXICO. 

lick county, Missouri ; and from his long association with the hunter, he 
probably makes the statement on Carson's own authority. The error, if 
it is an error, may have arisen from the fact that Carson's father moved 
from Kentucky to Missouri, when Christopher was only one year old. 
He settled in what is now Howard county, in the central part of 
Missouri. 

When Mr. Carson removed his family from Kentucky, and settled 
in the new territory, it was a wild region, naturally fertile, thus favoring 
his views as a cultivator ; abounding in wild game, and affording a splen- 



64 KIT CARSON. 

did field of enterprise for the hunter, but infested on all sides with Indians, 
often hostile, and always treacherous. As Mr. Carson united the pursuits 
of farmer and hunter, and lived in a sort of blockhouse or fort, as a pre- 
caution against the attacks of the neighboring Indians, his son became 
accustomed to the presence of danger, and the necessity of earnest action 
and industry from his earliest childhood. 

ENTERED EARLY UPON A TRADER'S LIFE. 

At the age of fifteen, Kit Carson was apprenticed to a saddler. This 
trade requiring close confinement, was, of course, utterly distasteful to a 
boy already accustomed to the use of the rifle, and the stirring pleasures 
of the hunter's life, and at the end of two years, his apprenticeship was 
terminated, for Kit voluntarily abandoned the further pursuit of the 
trade, and sought the more active employment of a trader's life. His 
new pursuit was more congenial. He joined an armed band of traders in 
an expedition to Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. This, at that 
period, 1826, was rather a perilous undertaking, on account of the Indian 
tribes who were ever ready to attack a trading caravan, when there was 
any prospect of overcoming it. No attack was made on the party, how- 
ever, and no incident of importance occurred, if we except the accident to 
one of the teamsters who wounded himself by carelessly handling a 
loaded rifle, so as to render it necessary to amputate his arm. In 
this operation Carson assisted, the surgical instruments being a 
razor, an old saw, and an iron bolt, heated red hot, in order to apply 
the actual cautery. Notwithstanding this rough surgery, the man 
recovered. 

After spending a winter at Taos and learning the Spanish language, 
Carson returned to Santa Fe and became a teamster. Here he secured a 
position as interpreter to a tradesman, but therewas not enough of adven- 
ture about such a life for a young man whose chief enjoyment was in the 
chase and in roaming over the prairies and through the woods. He was 
plainly cut out for a pioneer, an adventurer in the best meaning of the 
term, and he was never so happy as when pursuing wild game or encoun- 



KIT CARSON. 



65 



tering t"he dangers attending an expedition against tlie red men. He 
soon joined a party of Hunters and trappers to pnnisli the Indians for 
their depredations against the white settlers, though they really set out 
to trap for beaver. 

They did not fall in with the Indians, of whom they were in pursuit, 
until they had reached the head of one of the affluents of the Rio Gila, 




INDIANS ATTACKING THE HOUSE OF A WHITE SETTLER, 

called Salt River. Once in presence of their enemies they made short 

work with them, killing fifteen of their warriors, and putting the whole 

band to rout. Such occurrences were by no means unfrequent, as we 

shall see in the course of this narrative. A small body of experienced 

hunters and trappers, confident in their superior skill and discipline, 

never hesitates to attack a greatly superior number of Indians, and it 

was a rare thing that success did not attend their daring. The Indian is 
5 APH 



66 



KIT CARSON. 




not fond of a ''fair stand up fight." He prefers, stratagem and ambusli^ 
and reverences as a great "brave," tlie warrior wlio is most successful in 
circumventing bis enemies, and bringing off many scalps witbout the 
loss of a man ; but when a considerable number of Indians are sbol 

down in the first onset, tbe remain- 
der are very apt to take to fligbt in 
every direction. 

Carson joined a company of 
trappers under command of Cap- 
tain Young, and we next find bim 
in California. Here, in tbe beau- 
tiful valley of tbe Sacramento, tbe 
part}^ bunted sucb animals as were 
valuable by reason of their skins. 
At this stage of our narrative we 
have the story of two expeditions 
which Carson led against the In- 
dians, while they trapped upon the 
Sacramento, which give proof of 
his courage and thorough education 
in the art of Indian warfare, which 
had become a necessity to tbe trav- 
eler on the plains, and in tbe 
mountains of the western wilds. 
APACHE SQUAW AND CRADLE. ^j^b his quick discrimination of 

character, and familiarity with the habits of the race, he could not but 
know the Digger Indians were less bold than the Apaches and Caman- 
ches, with whom he was before familiar. 

Tbe Indians at the Mission San Gabriel, were restive under coerced 
labor, and forty of them made their escape to a tribe not far away. The 
mission demanded the return of these fugitives, and being refused, gave 
battle to the neighboring tribe, but were defeated. The Padre sent to the 
trappers for assistance to compel tbe Indians not to harbor their people. 



KIT CARSON. 67 

Carson and eleven of his companions volunteered to aid the mission 
and the attack upon the Indian village resulted in the destruction of a 
third of its inhabitants, and compelled them to submission. Captain 
Young found at this mission a trader to take his furs, and from them 
purchased a drove of horses. 

Directly after his return, a party of Indians contrived to drive away 
sixty horses from the trappers, while the sentinel slept at night. Carson, 
with twelve men, was sent in pursuit. It was not dif&cult to follow the 
fresh trail of so large a drove, yet he pursued them a hundred miles, 
and into the mountains, before coming up with them. The Indians sup- 
posed themselves too far away to be followed, and were feasting on the 
flesh of the stolen horses they had slaughtered. Carson's party arranged 
themselves silently and without being seen, and rushing upon the Indian 
camp, killed eight men, and scattered the remainder in every direction. 
The horses were recovered, except the six killed, and partly consumed 
and with three Indian children that had been left in camp, they returned 
to the joyful greetings of their friends. 

CAPTURE OF LARGE HERDS OF CATTLE AND HORSES. 

While on the Colorado, Young's party discovered a company of 
Indians (with whom they had had a previous skirmish), as they were 
coming out from Los Angeles, and charging suddenly among them, suc- 
ceeded in taking a large herd of cattle from them, in the Indians' own 
style. The same week an Indian party came past their camp in the 
night, with a drove of a hundred horses, evidently just stolen from a 
Mexican town in Sonora. The trappers, with their guns for their pil- 
lows, were ready in an instant for the onslaught, and captured these 
horses also, the Indians hurrying away for fear of the deadly rifle. The 
next day they selected such as they wanted from the herd, choosing of 
course the finest, and turning the rest loose, to be taken again by the 
Indians, or to become the wild mustangs that roamed the plains of North- 
ern Mexico, in droves of tens of thousands, and which could be cap- 
tured and tamed only by the use of the lasso. 



68 



KIT CARSON. 



Mr. Young and liis party trapped down the Colorado and up the 
Gila with success, then crossed to the vicinity of the New Mexican copper 
mines, where they left their furs and went to Santa Fe. Having pro- 
cured their license to trade with the Indians about the copper mines, 
they returned thither for their furs, went back to Santa Fe and disposed 
of them to great advantage. The party disbanded with several hundred 




TRADING WITH THE INDIANS, 
dollars apiece, which most of them expended as sailors do their earnings 
when they come into port- 

Of course Carson was hail fellow well met with them for a time. He 
had not hitherto taken the lesson that all have to learn, that the ways of 
pleasure are deceitful paths ; and to resist temptation needs a large 
amount of courage — larger perhaps than to encounter any physical dan- 
ger ; at least the moral courage it requires is of a higher tone than the 
physical courage which would carry one through a fight with a grizzly 



KIT CARSON. 69 

bear triumpliantly ; that the latter assists the former ; indeed that the 
highest moral courage must be aided by physical bravery, but that the 
latter may exist entirely independently of the former. 

Carson learned during this season of hilarity the necessity of saying 
No ! and he did so persistently, knowing that if he failed in this he 
would be lost to himself and to everything dear to life. He was now 




CAMP OF THE NEZ PERCES. 

twenty-one, and though the terrible ordeal of poverty had been nobly 
borne, and he had conquered, the latter ordeal of temptation from the sud- 
den possession of what was to him a large sum of money, had proved 
for once, too much. And it is well for him perhaps it was so ; as it 
enabled him to sow his wild oats in early youth and prepare for his 
heroic life work. 

In the autumn Carson joined another trapping party under Mr. 
Fitzpatrick, whom we shall have frequent occasion to mention hereafter. 
They proceeded up the Platte and Sweet Water past Goose Creek to the 



70 KIT CARSON. 

Salmon River, where tHey wintered, like other parties, sharing the good 
will of the Nez Perces Indians, and having the vexations of the Black- 
feet for a constant fear. Mr. Fitzpatrick, less daring than Carson, 
declined sending him to punish this tribe for their depredations. 

In the spring they came to Bear River, which flows from the north 
to Salt Lake. Carson and four men left Mr. Fitzpatrick here, and went 
ten days to find Captain Gaunt in the place called the New Park, on 
the head waters of the Arkansas, where they spent the trapping season, 
and wintered. While the party were wintering in camp, being robbed 
of some of their horses by a band of sixty Crow Indians, Carson, as usual, 
was appointed to lead the party sent in pursuit of the plunderers. With 
only twelve men he took up the trail, came upon the Indians in one of 
their strongholds, cut loose the animals, which were tied within ten feet 
of the fort of logs in which the enemy had taken shelter, attacked them, 
killed five of their warriors, and made good his retreat with the recovered 
horses ; an Indian of another tribe who was with the trappers bringing 
away a Crow scalp as a trophy. 

ENCOUNTERS WITH INDIAN HORSE STEALERS. 

In the spring, while trapping on the Platte River, two men belong- 
ing to the party deserted and robbed a cache, or underground deposit of 
furs, which had been made by Captain Gaunt, in the neighborhood. Car- 
son, with only one companion, went off in pursuit of the thieves, who, 
however, were never heard of afterwards. 

Not finding the plunderers, Carson and his companion remained at 
the old camp on the Arkansas, where the cache had been made, until 
they were relieved by a party sent out from the United States with sup- 
plies for Captain Gaunt' s trappers. They were soon after joined by a 
party of Gaunt's men, and started to his camp. On their way they had 
repeated encounters with Indians attempting to steal their horses, but 
easily beat them off and saved their property. 

On one occasion, when Carson and the other trappers were out in 
search of " beaver sign, " they came suddenly upon a band of sixty war- 



KIT CARSON. 71 

riors well armed and mounted. In the presence of such a force their only- 
safety was in flight. Amid a shower of bullets from the Indian rifles, 
they made good their escape. Carson considered this one of his narrow- 
est escapes. 

Not long after this Carson had an adventure with two grizzly bears 
which he considered one of the most perilous he ever met with. He had 
gone out from the camp on foot to shoot game for supper, and had just 
brought down an elk, when two grizzly bears came suddenly upon him. 
His rifle being empty, there was noway of escape from instant death but 
to run with his utmost speed for the nearest tree. He reached a sapling 
with the bears just at his heels. Cutting off" a limb of the tree with his 
knife, he used that as his only weapon of defence. When the bears climbed 
so as nearly to reach him, he gave them smart raps on the nose, which 
sent them away growling ; but when the pain ceased they would return 
again only to have the raps repeated. 

LUCKY ESCAPE FROM CLIMBING BEARS. 

In this way nearly the whole night was spent, when finally the bears 
became discouraged, and retired from the contest. Waiting until they 
were well out of sight, Carson descended from his unenviable position, 
and made the best of his way into camp, which he reached about day- 
light. The elk had been devoured by wolves before it could be found, 
and his three companions were only too glad to see him, to be troubled 
about breakfasting on beaver, as they had supped the night before ; for 
trappers in camp engaged in their business had to resort to this kind of 
food when they could obtain no other. 

Carson for the fall hunt joined a company of fifty, and went to the 
country of the Blackfeet, at the head waters of the Missouri ; but the 
Indians were so numerous, and so determined upon hostility, that a 
white man could not leave his camp without danger of being shot down ; 
therefore, quitting the Blackfeet country, they camped on the Big Snake 
River for winter quarters. 

During the winter months, the Blackfeet had in the night run off 



72 



KIT CARSON. 



eighteen of their horses, and Kit Carson, with eleven men, was sent to 
recover them, and chastise their temerity. They rode fifty miles 
through the snow before coming up with the Indians, and instantly 
made an attempt to recover their animals, which were loose and quietly 
grazing. 

The Indians, wearing snow shoes, had the advantage, and Carson 




^^^v^^ 



INDIAN VILLAGE IN WINTER. 

readily granted the parley they asked. One man from each party 
advanced, and between the contending ranks had a talk. The Indians 
informed them that they supposed they had been robbing the Snake 
Indians, and did not desire to steal from white men. Of course this 
tale was false, and Carson asked why they did not lay down their arms 
and ask for a smoke, but to this they had no reply to make. However, 
both parties laid aside their weapons and prepared for the smoke ; and 




z I- 



o ir 

03 UJ 



5 i 



KIT CARSON. 73 

the lighted calumet was puffed by every one of the savages and the 
whites alternately, and the head men of the savages made several long 
non-committal speeches, to which, in reply, the trappers came directly 
to the point, and said they would hear nothing of conciliation from 
them until their property was returned. 

RECEIVES A PAINFUL WOUND IN THE NECK. 

After much talk, the Indians brought in five of the poorest horses. 
The whites at once started for their guns, which the Indians did at the 
same time, and the fight commenced. Carson and a comrade named 
Markland, having seized their rifles first, were at the lead, and selected 
for their mark two Indians who were near each other and behind 
different trees ; but as Kit was about to fire, he perceived Markland's 
antagonist aiming at him with death-like precision, while Markland 
had not noticed him, and, on the instant, neglecting his own adversary, 
he sent a bullet through the heart of the other savage, but at the 
moment saw that his own enemy's rifle was aimed at his breast. He 
was not quite quick enough to dodge the ball, and it struck the side of 
his neck, and passed through his shoulder, shattering the bone. 

Carson was thenceforward only a spectator of the fight, which con- 
tinued until night, when both parties retired from the field of battle and 
went into camp. 

Carson's wound was very painful and bled freely, till the cold 
checked the flow of blood. They dared not light a fire, and in the cold 
and darkness Carson uttered not a word of complaint, nor did even a 
groan escape him. His companions were earnest in their sympathy, 
but he was too brave to need it, or to allow his wound to influence the 
course they should pursue. 

In a council of war which they held, it was decided that, as they 
had slain several Indians, and had themselves only one wounded, they 
had best return to camp, as they were in unfit condition to continue the 
pursuit. Arriving at camp, another council was held, at which it was 
decided to send thirty men under Captain Bridger, to pursue and chas- 



74 KIT CARSON. 

tise these Blackfeet thieves. This party followed the Indian trail 
several days, but finally returned, concluding it was useless to search 
further, as they had failed to overtake them. 

We next find Carson in a hunting and trapping party of a hundred, 
of which he was one of the leaders, organized to trap on the Yellowstone 
and the head waters of the Missouri. 

DANCES AROUND A WINTER FIRE. 

The winter's encampment was made in this region, and a party of 
Crow Indians which was with them, camped at a little distance, on the 
same stream. Here they had secured an abundance of meat, and 
passed the severe weather with a variety of amusements, in which the 
Indians joined them in their lodges, made of buffalo hides. These lodges, 
very good substitutes for houses, are made in the form of a cone, spread 
by the means of poles spreading from a common centre, where there was 
a hole at the top for the passage of smoke. These were often twenty 
feet in height, and as many feet in diameter, where they were pinned to 
the ground with stakes. In a large village the Indians often had one 
lodge large enough to hold fifty persons, and within were performed their 
war dances around a fire made in the centre. During the palmy days of 
the British Fur Company, in a lodge like this, only made, instead, of 
birch bark, Irving says the Indians of the north held their "primitive 
fairs," outside the city of Montreal, where they disposed of their furs- 

There was one drawback upon conviviality for this party, in the 
extreme difficulty in getting food for their animals ; for the food and fuel 
so abundant for themselves did not suffice for their horses. Snow covered 
the ground, and the trappers were obliged to gather willow twigs, and 
strip the bark from cottonwood trees, in order to keep them alive. The 
inner bark of the cottonwood is eaten by the Indians when reduced to 
extreme want. Besides, the cold brought the buffalo down upon them 
in large herds, to share the nourishment they had provided for their 
horses. 

Spring at length opened, and gladly they again commenced trapping; 



KIT CARSON. 



75 



first on the Yellowstone, and soon on the headwaters of the Missouri, 
where they learned that the Blackfeet were recovered from the sickness 
of last year, which had not been so severe as it was reported, and that 
they were still anxious and in condition for a fight, and were encamped 
not far from their present trapping grounds. 

Carson and five men went forward in advance "to reconnoitre," and 




INDIANS HUNTING WILD BUFFALOES. 

found the village preparing to remove, having learned of the presence of 
the trappers. Hurrying back, a party of forty-three was selected from 
the whole, and they unanimously selected Carson to lead them, and 
leaving the rest to move on with the baggage, and aid them if it should 
be necessary when they should come up with the Indians, they hastened 
forward, eager for a battle. 

Carson and his command were not long in overtaking the Indians, 
and, dashing among them, at the first fire killed ten of their braves, but 



76 KIT CARSON. 

tlie Indians rallied, and retreated in good order. The wliite men were in 
fine spirits, and followed up their first attack with deadly result for three 
full hours, the Indians making scarce any resistance. Now their firing 
became less animated as their ammunition was getting low, and they had 
to use it with extreme caution. The Indians, suspecting this from the 
slackness of their fire, rallied, and with a tremendous whoop, turned upon 
their enemies. 

Now, Carson and his company could use their small arms, which 
produced a terrible effect, and which enabled them again to drive back 
the Indians. They rallied yet again, and charged with so much power, 
and in such numbers, they forced the trappers to retreat. 

A DEADLY SHOT IN THE NICK OF TIME. 

During this engagement, the horse of one of the mountaineers was 
killed, and fell with his whole weight upon his rider. Carson saw the 
condition of the man, with six warriors rushing to take his scalp, and 
reached the spot in time to save his friend. Leaping from the saddle, he 
placed himself before his fallen companion, shouting at the same time 
for his men to rally around him, and with deadly aim from his rifle, shot 
down the foremost warrior. 

The trappers now rallied about Carson, and the remaining five 
warriors retired, without the scalp of their fallen foe. Only two of them 
reached a place of safety ; for the well aimed fire of the trappers leveled 
them with the earth. 

Carson's horse was loose, and as his comrade was safe, he mounted 
behind one of his men, and rode back to the ranks, while, by genera' 
impulse, the firing upon both sides ceased. His horse was captured and 
restored to him, but each party, now thoroughly exhausted, seemed to 
wait for the other to renew the attack. 

While resting in this attitude, the other division of the trappers 
came in sight, but the Indians, showing no fear, posted themselves 
among the rocks at some distance from the scene of the last skirmish, 
and coolly waited for their adversaries. Exhausted ammunition had 



KIT CARSON. 



77 



been tHe cause of tlie retreat of Carson and his force, but now, witb a 
renewed supply and an addition of fresh men to the force, they advanced 
on foot to drive the Indians from their hiding places. The contest was 
desperate and severe, but powder and ball eventually conquered, and the 
Indians, once dislodged, scattered in every direction. The trappers con- 
sidered this a complete victory over the Blackfeet, for a large number of 




A CHIEF IN WAR COSTUME. 

their warriors were killed, and many more were wounded, while they 
had but three men killed, and a few severely wounded. 

We afterward find Carson at what was known as Bent's Fort, where 
he forsook trapping for several years, and became hunter to the fort, 
supplying with his rifle food for the forty inmates of that place. When 
game was scarce, his task was sometimes difficult, but skill and experi- 
ence enabled him to triumph over every obstacle. It is not strange that 



78 KIT CARSON. 

witli sucli long experience Carson became tlie most skilful of hunters, 
and won the name of the "Nestor of the Rocky Mountains." Among 
the Indians he had earned the undisputed title of "Monarch of the 
Prairies." 

It was while engaged as hunter for the fort, Carson took to himself 
an Indian wife, by whom he had a daughter, who forms the connecting 
link between his past hardships and his subsequent greatness ; for that 
he was emphatically a great man, the whole civilized world has acknowl- 
edged. The mother died soon after the daughter's birth, and Carson, 
feeling that his rude cabin was scarcely the place in which to rear his 
child, determined, when of a suitable age, to take her to St. Louis and 
secure for her those advantages of education which circumstances had 
denied to him ; and, accordingly, when his engagement at the fort had 
expired, he went to St. Louis for that purpose, embracing on the route 
the opportunity of visiting the home of his boyhood, which he had not 
seen for sixteen years. 

SAD CHANGES IN HOME OF BOYHOOD. 

Of course, he found everything changed. Many of those whom he 
had known as men and heads of families, were now grown old, while 
more had died off ; but by those to whom he was made known, he was 
recognized with a heartiness of welcome which brought tears to his eyes, 
though his heart was saddened at the changes which time had wrought. 
His fame had preceded him, and his welcome was, therefore, doubly cor- 
dial, for he had more than verified the promise of his youth. 

Thence he proceeded to St. Louis, with the intention of placing his 
daughter at school, but here, to his great amazement, he found himself 
a lion ; for the advent of such a man in such a city, which had so often 
rung with his deeds of daring and suffering, could not be permitted to 
remain among its citizens unknown or unrecognized. He was courted 
and feted, and, though gratified at the attentions showered upon him, 
found himself so thoroughly out of his element, that he longed to return 
to more pleasant and more familiar scenes — his old hunting grounds. 



KIT CARSON. 79 

Having accomplislied tiie object of his visit to St. Louis, in placing 
his daughter under proper guardianship, he left the city, carrying with 
him pleasing, because merited, remembrances of the attentions paid to 
him, and leaving behind him impressions of the most favorable char- 
acter. Soon after he reached St. Louis, he had the good fortune to fall 
in with Colonel Fremont, who was there organizing a party for the 
exploration of the far western country, as yet unknown, and who was 
anxiously awaiting the arrival of Captain Drips, a well-known trader and 
trapper, who had been highly recommended to him as a guide. 

FREMONT SECURES CARSON FOR A GUIDE. 

Kit Carson's name and fame were as familiar as household words 
to Fremont, and he gladly availed himself of his proffered services in 
lieu of those of Captain Drips. It did not take long for two such men 
as John C. Fremont and Kit Carson to become thoroughly acquainted 
with each other, and the accidental meeting !at St. Louis resulted in the 
cementing of a friendship which has never been impaired — won as it 
was on the one part by fidelity, truthfulness, integrity and courage, 
united to vast experience and consummate skill in the prosecution of the 
duty he had assumed — on the otner by every quality which commands 
honor, regard, esteem and high personal devotion. 

And now Carson's name is embodied in the archives of our country's 
history, and no one has been more ready to accord to him the credit he 
so well earned than Fremont, who had the good fortune to secure, at the 
same time, the services of the most experienced guide of his day, and 
the devotion of a friend. 

The adventures of Carson were henceforth to be shared by the great 
explorer, and the subjoined account of Fremont's expeditions only 
enhances the renown and splendid achievements of Kit Carson. 




CHAPTER III. 

JOHN C. FREMONT. 

STYLED "THE PATHFINDER" — TRIUMPH OVER 
GREAT DIFFICULTIES — PERSONAL COURAGE 
AND ENDURANCE — CELEBRATED EXPLORATIONS. 
NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT. 

The discovery and exploration of tHe large ter- 
ritory lying west of the Mississippi River are due 
to John C. Fremont more than to any other man, although it may be 
doubted whether he could have achieved such brilliant success except 
for the co-operation of Kit Carson, the intrepid hunter and guide. 

Fremont was apparently born to be an explorer. Dangers did not 
appall him ; difficulties did not discourage him ; wild Indians did not 
daunt his splendid courage ; hardships did not weaken his firm resolu- 
tion. He planted the Stars and Stripes on the highest peak of the Rocky 
Mountains. 

He was born at Savannah, Georgia, January 31, 1813. He was a 
remarkably bright boj^, and at the age of fifteen, entered Charleston 
College, South Carolina. For two or three years after leaving college 
he was a teacher of mathematics on some of our naval schoolships. The 
interest in opening up the country and building railroads had grown 
very fast, and Fremont decided to leave the sea and become a Govern- 
ment surveyor and civil engineer. He helped to lay out the railroad 
routes through the mountain passes of North Carolina and Tennessee, 
and after that he was one of a party that explored some of the then 
unknown sections of Missouri. 

Before this latter work was finished, he was promoted to the rank of 
^econd lieutenant of the map-making or topographical engineers ; and 
80 



JOHN C. FREMONT. 



81 




three years later, wlien he was twenty-eight years old, he had an unlooked- 
for appointment from the Government to explore and survey the Des 
Moines River. Mr. Fremont was deeply in love just then with 
young Miss Jessie Benton, a daughter of a United States Senator from 
Missouri. Her parents were much opposed to having her marry a Gov- 
ernment o£6.cer ; so it was with a heavy heart that the young man set out 
for the frontier wilderness of Iowa, and the land of the Sacs and Fox 
Indians along the Des Moines banks. 
He did his work well, and when 
he returned in the fall, the Bentons 
agreed that, since he was in every 
way worthy as a man, they would 
forgive his being an ofi&cer, and con- 
sent to the marriage. This happy 
event was of importance to more peo- 
ple than themselves alone ; for by 
her energy and powers of mind Mrs. 
Fremont was not only a direct help 
to her husband in carrying out the 
most important explorations ever 
made under the United States Gov- 
ernment,but she cheered and encour- 
aged him to keep up heart and push 
on through many years of work and 
hardship, often clouded by injustice warrior in costume of dog dance. 
and disappointment. The expedition to the Des Moines settled the pur- 
pose of Mr. Fremont's life. 

He then learned enough of the great Western country to know that 
the Government and the citizens who were gathered along the Atlantic 
seaboard really knew almost nothing of the truth about the uninhabited 
portions of their land ; that the extravagant tales which had been told 
by adventurous traders and travelers were mostly false ; that probably 

a great portion of the country could be used for farm lands and manu- 
6 A P H 




82 JOHN C. FREMONT. 

facturing towns, and tliat railway routes could probably be laid across 
tbe wbole continent. Filled witb a desire to open up tbese treasures of 
knowledge, be applied to tbe War Department for permission to survey 
tbe wbole of tbe territory lying between tbe Missouri River and tbe 
Pacific Ocean. 

Tbe request was granted and means provided for an expedition to be 
fitted out, especially to find a good route from tbe Eastern States to Cali- 
fornia, and to examine and survey tbe Soutb Pass of tbe Rocky Moun- 
tains— tbe great crossing place for emigrants on tbe way to Oregon. It 
was bis own wisb to bave tbis order, for be knew — tbougb be did not 
tben say so — tbat if tbe Government bad tbis particular section explored 
and surveyed, it would fix a point in tbe emigrants' travel, and also sbow 
an encouraging interest in tbeir enterprise. On tbe 2d of May, witb bis 
instructions and part of bis supplies. Lieutenant Fremont left Wasbing- 
ton for St. Louis, wbicb was tben a good-sized town on tbe borderland of 
tbe Western wilderness, and already a commercial centre. 

EXPEDITION OF HARDY EXPLORERS. 

Tbere be collected bis party and finisbed fitting out tbe expedition. 
About twenty men joined bim — mostly Creoles and Canadians wbo bad 
been employed as traders for fur companies, and wbo were used to tbe 
Indians and all tbe bardsbips of tbe rougb life tbey sbould bave to lead. 
Besides tbese men, be bad a well-known bunter, named Maxwell, for tbeir 
guide, and tbe celebrated mountaineer, Cbristopber Carson— or Kit Car- 
son as be was usually called — wbo was botb bold and cautious, and knew 
more about tbe West tban almost any bunter in tbe country. 

Tbis was tbe little band tbat, armed and mounted, set out witb tbeir 
gallant leader on bis first exploring expedition. Tbey found bim a man 
full of determination and self-reliance, baving skill and patience and 
many resources, and wbo grew stronger in bis purpose wben perils and 
discouragements lay in bis patb. His men were well cbosen, spirited 
and adventurous, wbile most of tbem were also bardy and experienced. 
Most of tbe party rode on borseback, but some drove tbe mule carts tbat 



JOHN C. FREMONT. 83 

carried the baggage, instruments and what food it was thought necessary 
to take along. Tied to the carts were a few loose horses and some oxen 
to be killed on the way for fresh meat. After they had crossed Missouri 
and reached Chouteau's Landing — where Kansas City now stands — they 
felt that their journey was really begun. 

Starting here at the mouth of the Kansas, they followed its winding 
course across the northeastern corner of Kansas State, and pushed on 
into Nebraska, until they reached the barren banks of the Platte. Then 
they followed that stream, taking the direction of the Southern fork, 
when they reached the division, and following where it led almost to 
Long's Peak. Then they changed their line of march, and keeping near 
the banks of the Northern fork, pushed on to Fort Laramie. 

FRIENDLY MEETING WITH THE INDIANS. 

This was reached in safety in the middle of July, the travelers 
having had only one great buffalo fight and one encounter with the 
Arapahoe Indians in the course of their journey. The meeting with the 
Indians turned out a friendly one, though it would not have been so 
but for Maxwell, who had traded with the tribe, and knowing the war- 
riors, shouted to the leader in the Arapahoe language, just in time to 
prevent a fray. The chief was riding on furiously, but at the sound of 
words in his own speech from the white men, he wheeled his horse round, 
recognized Maxwell, and gave his hand to Fremont in a friendly 
salute. 

At Fort Laramie reports were heard of trouble among the Indians 
and white people between the Platte and the Rocky Mountains, and the 
explorers were told that their lives would be in danger if they went any 
further west until matters were quiet again. But Fremont and his men 
thought that probably the stories were exaggerated, and resolved not to 
be daunted by them. So, after a few days of rest, they got ready to start 
out. Just as they were about to depart, four friendly chiefs appeared 
with a letter, warning Fremont of danger from bands of young warriors 
if he went further. 



84 JOHN C. FREMONT. 

He received tlieir warning very respectfully, as well as tlianking 
them for their kindness, and also made a pretty little speech in answer 
to theirs : '' When you told us that your young men would kill us," he 
said, " you did not know that our hearts were strong and you did not see 
the rifles which my young men carry in their hands. We are few, and 
you are many and may kill us, but there will be much crying in your 

villages, for many of your young 
men will stay behind, and forget to 
return with your warriors from the 
mountains. Do you think that our 
great chief" — meaning the Presi- 
dent — " will let his soldiers die and 
forget to cover their graves ? Be- 
fore the snows melt again, his war- 
riors will sweep away your villages 
as the fire does the prairie in the 
autumn. See! I have pulled down 
my white houses, and my people 
are ready ; when the sun is ten 
paces higher we shall be on the 
march. If you have anything to 
tell us you will say it soon." 

The chiefs were not expecting 
such words in reply, but they liked 
MANDAN INDIAN CHIEF. the bold spirit of the white man 

from the East, and what they soon had to say was that they would 
send one of their young warriors to guide the party. It was a 
little favor of only one man, but it was everything to the explorers, for 
— as both they and the Indians knew— his presence in the party was 
sure protection for them against all the savages they might meet. 
Fremont heartily accepted the courtesy, and at evening the com- 
pany set out for the distant region of the Rockies. 

Now their real difficulties began. Soon they entered a most deso- 




JOHN C FREMONT. 



85 



late country, where, the interpreter assured them, they were likely to die 
of starvation if they went very far. They had only food enough left to 
last for ten days, and the gallant leader called his men together and told 
them that he intended to push on, but that all who wished to had his 
permission to turn back. ''Not a man," he says, "flinched from his under- 
taking." One or two, who were not very strong, he sent back to the 
nearest fort, but the rest kept close to him till their aim was reached. 
"When our food is gone, we'll eat the horses," said one of them. 

The most difficult part of the whole 
expedition was now ahead of them, and it 
was necessary to go as lightly weighted as 
possible ; so they hid all the luggage they 
could spare in the bushes or buried it in 
the billows of sand that were banked up 
near the Wind River. Then they care- 
fully removed all traces of what they had 
done so the Indians would not discover 
their stores and steal them. A few days' 
march brought them to the water-shed of 
the Pacific and Mississippi slopes, and 
then to the object of their search — the 
great, beautiful South Pass. 

Instead of the rocky height they had 
expected, they saw a gently rising sandy plain stretched beyond the 
gorge, and the much-dreaded crossing of the Rockies was an easy matter. 
Entering the Pass and going up into the mountains, they found the 
sources of many of the great rivers that flow to the Paciflc. Further on, 
they discovered a beautiful ravine, beyond which lay the fair water called 
Mountain Lake — "set like a gem in the mountains," and feeding one of 
the branches of the Colorado River. 

The expedition had now fulfilled its orders from the Government, 
but the leader did not give the word to return until he had gone up the 
lofty height of Wind River Peak — now known as Fremont's Peak — that 




ONE OF FREMONT'S GUIDES. 



86 JOHN C. FREMONT. 

stands in majestic grandeur near tlie Pass. The summit was reached 
after a most difficult climb, and Fremont himself was the first white man 
to stand on its narrow crest, and to look out upon the country from the 
highest point in the Rocky Mountains. 

On one side lay numberless lakes and streams, giving their waters 
into the Colorado, which sweeps them on to the Gulf of California ; in 




FREMONT S EXPLORING EXPEDITION APPROACHING ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 

the other direction he saw the lovely valley of the Wind River, the 
romantic home from which the Yellowstone carries its waters to the 
Missouri, away to the east ; in the north he saw the snow-capped summits 
of the Trois Tetons, where the Missouri and the Columbia rise, and the 
lower peaks that guard the secret of the Nebraska's birth. 

Between, beyond and all around were lesser peaks, gorges, rugged 
cliffs, and great walls of mountain rock, broken into a thousand bold, 
fantastic figures, and standing up in weird and striking grandeur. A 
thousand feet below him, steep, shining ice-precipices towered above fields 



JOHN C. FREMONT. 87 

of snow, gleaming spotless white. "We stood," said Fremont, "where 
human foot had never stood before, and felt the thrill of first explorers." 
When the travelers were again at the base of the peak, and all their 
explorations and discoveries had been carefully noted, and their speci- 
mens of rock, plants and flowers gathered together, they turned their 
faces homeward. They found their hidden stores, made up their train 
once more, found the camp of the men who had remained behind, and, 
glad with their success, took up the eastward march. 

GREAT INTEREST IN FREMONT'S DISCOVERIES. 

A full report of the expedition was soon sent to Congress, and in a 
short time Fremont's discoveries became a subject of great interest in 
both Europe and America. From Fremont's Peak he had brought some 
of the flowers that he found growing beside his path ; a bee that had 
flown up to them soon after they reached the summit ; the rock that 
formed the peak, and the rugged, shelving mountain, above which it 
reared its icy, snow-capped head. Over the whole course of his extended 
trip, he obtained the height both of plains and mountains, latitude and 
longitude ; he reported the face of the country, whether it was fertile or 
barren, whether traveling over it was easy or difficult, and the practi- 
cability of certain routes for public highways. 

The graud features of nature were clearly described in fittirg- lan- 
guage, and in some cases he illustrated them by drawings. Military 
positions were pointed out, and in all other ways a thorough examination 
and survey was made of a vast portion of the national possessions which, 
up to this time, had been unused, unknown and unappreciated. Europe 
and America praised the manner in M^hich the expedition had been man- 
aged, and the Government, well pleased with the wonderful results he 
had obtained, appointed Lieutenant Fremont to set out on another journey 
at once, and to complete the survey between the State of Missouri and 
the tide-water regions of the Columbia River. 

This was just what he wanted to do. A trip to the top of Wind 
River Peak and back had but revealed to him what vast secrets of the 



88 



JOHN C FREMONT. 



Western country there were yet to be discovered, and lie lost no time in 
getting ready to leturn." With some of his old companions and several 
new ones, he soon made up a band of about forty men, who left Kansas 
with him just one year after the first expedition had started. The route 

this time lay in a 
northwesterly direc- 
tion — before, it had 
been almost west. 

In four months 
they traveled over 
seventeen hundred 
miles, reaching the 
Great Salt Lake 
early in the autunm, 
and before winter 
began they had 
found the Columbia 
and followed it to its 
mouth. The same 
careful observations 
and surveys were 
taken along the route 
of this journey as 
had made the other 
so valuable, especi- 
ally in the region of 
FREMONT AT A POINT ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER. the Great Salt Lake, 
about which no true accounts had ever been given before. 

Although Fremont had fulfilled the orders of the Government when 
he reached the mouth of the Columbia, this was really but a small part 
of what he intended to do upon this expedition. The vast region beyond 
the Rocky Mountains — the whole western slope of our continent — was 
but little known then in any way, and not at all with accurate, scientific 





GENERAL JOHN C- FREMONT, THE RENOWNED EXPLORER 



JOHN C. FREMONT. 89 

knowledge. This, Fremont longed to go throngli and explore. At first 
lie intended to begin doing so by returning home through the Great 
Basin — now Utah — between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada • 
but he took another direction finally — a route through almost an unknown 
region between the Columbia and Colorado — that led them further west, 
showed them California, and resulted, at a later time, in securing to the 
United States that rich country, which was then owned by Mexico. 

TERRIBLE JOURNEY OF FORTY DAYS. 

The cold winter came on almost before they had started, and they 
had not gone far before they found themselves in a desert of snow where 
there was nothing for either men or horses to eat, while between them and 
the fertile valleys of California was the rugged, snow-covered range of 
the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They tried to get some of the Indians to 
show them the way over this great barrier ; but the savages declared that 
it could not be crossed — no human being had ever crossed it, and no 
guide would consent to go with them for any amount of money. But they 
said there was an opening further south, and gave Fremont some direc- 
tions as to where it might be found. So the party took the risk of guiding 
themselves, and kept on in their cold and desolate march. 

When they reached the pass, it was only to see toward the west a 
still greater range before them. It was plain that they would get lost if 
they attempted to push on alone, and they had gone too far now to turn 
back. At last they found a young Indian, who, for a very large present, 
would undertake to guide them. On the ist of February they started 
out, and after a terrible journey of forty days they reached the Sacra- 
mento River, and a comfortable resting-place at Sutter's Fort, the place 
where gold was found four years later. Half of their horses had perished, 
and the men were so weak and thin that it was two months before they 
were able to go on again. 

Fremont did not attempt to go any further into California ; but when 
spring opened and the men were well enough to travel, gave the word for 
home. They crossed the Sierra Nevada, and making their route as nearly 



90 JOHN C FREMONT. 

due east as possible, they passed by the Great Salt Lake, crossed the 
Rocky Mountains through the South Pass, halted at several places they 
had become acquainted with before, and reached the Kansas country in 
July. There the ground was known to them, and the rest of the journey 
was quite smoothly and quickly made. 

By midsummer Fremont had reported himself to the Government 
and was once more with his family. He learned then that a letter of 
recall had been sent to him after he started ; but that his wife held it 
back, seeing that it was upon some false charges, made by his enemies, 
at Washington. So he had really made this journey as a fugitive, but 
Mrs. Fremont's act was approved when her husband returned with a name 
that went over Europe and America for the great and valuable discoveries 
he had made in the northwest territory, and the terrible hardships he had 
endured to make the expedition successful. 

PROMOTED FOR HIS GRAND DISCOVERIES. 

In spite of the efforts that were made against him by some political 
opponents, Congress accepted his labors, gave him another appointment, 
and when he again went out — which was as soon as his reports were fin- 
ished — it was with the rank and title of captain in the United States 
Hngineers. His object this time was to find out more about the Salt 
Lake and other portions of the Great Basin, and to explore the coasts of 
California and Oregon. After several months of discovery and careful 
surveys of the streams and watersheds between, he again crossed the 
Sierra Nevada in midwinter and went down into the rich and beautiful 
country lining the Pacific shore. 

This territory was then held by the Mexicans, and while he left his 
men at San Joaquin to rest, Fremont himself went on to Monterey, the 
capital, to ask of Governor Castro permission to explore his country. 
The request was granted at first, but as news of war between the 
United States and Mexico arrived just then, the permission was recalled 
with orders that the travelers leave the country at once. But this the 
dauntless captain did not intend to do, so he built a rude fort of logs in a 



JOHN C. FREMONT. 91 

strong position on the Hawk's Peak Mountain, about thirty miles from 
Monterey, and with his sixty-two men waited for an attack from the 
Mexican forces, which, under General Castro, encamped themselves in 
the plain below. 

They watched him for four days and then deciding not to fight, 
allowed him to go on his way through the Sacramento Valley to Oregon. 
Before he had gone very far he was met by a party that had been sent out 
to find him, with orders from the United States to act for his nation in 
case Mexico should form a treaty with England to pass California into 
the hands of Great Britain. 

General Castro soon threatened to attack the Americans settled along 
the Sacramento, but before he had time to do so. Captain Fremont 
marched rapidly to their rescue, collecting them in his band as he went 
along, so that by the month of July the whole of northern California had 
passed out of the hands of the Mexicans and into those of the United 
States, and Fremont, the conqueror, was made governor of the land and 
raised to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the army. 

SURRENDERED TO THE UNITED STATES. 

Meanwhile the Government had resolved to make a sweeping con- 
quest of the rest of the territory, if possible, and have our possessions 
extend from ocean to ocean. Commodore Sloat, who commanded the 
United States squadron on the Pacific, seized Monterey, where Fremont 
soon joined him with a hundred and sixty mounted riflemen ; and at about 
the same time there arrived Commodore Stockton, of the navy, with orders 
from Congress to conquer California. The Mexicans still held the south- 
ern portion of the territory, but the towns of San Francisco, Monterey, 
and Los Angeles were all taken without much resistance, and at the end 
of six months Upper California was surrendered to the United States. 

When this was about completed General Kearney arrived with a 
force of dragoons, and disputed Commodore Stockton's right to be mili- 
tary governor of the territory. A quarrel arose, in which Fremont took 
the side of the commodore, who had made him major of the California 



92 



JOHN C FREMONT. 



battalion, and civil governor of tlie country ; but when tbe matter was 
carried to Washington and settled by the Government in favor of Kear- 
ney, he recognized his position and obeyed his orders. But the general 
' would not forgive his former allegiance to Commodore Stockton, and 
arrested him and made him return to Washington with his own men by 
the overland route, treating him very disrespectfully all the way. 

"My charges^" said Fremont, "are of misconduct, military, civil, 

political, and moral, 



and such that,if true, 
would make me unfit 
to be anywhere out- 
side of prison." He 
demanded a trial by 
court-martial, which 
might have cleared 
him if he had taken 
pains to get evidence 
upon his innocence ; 
but as he did not, 
he was pronounced 
SOUTHWEST FROM SANTA FE. gu^ilty of mutiny 

and disobedience and ordered to leave the Government service. 

But the court requested President Polk not to confirm their verdict ; 
he did not, and granted Fremont a pardon, with permission to keep his 
position in the army. This he would not accept ; he refused to receive 
as a favor that to which he had a right, or to go about as an officer par- 
doned of offenses he had never committed. So he resigned his commis- 
sion, and at the age of thirty-five, became a private citizen. 

Although he was still a young man, it seemed to him for a time that 
he had nothing to look forward to in life ; but he soon made up his mind 
to undertake another exploring expedition. This had to be on his own 
responsibility and at his own expense ; but he soon succeeded in getting 
a party together and fitting it out. 




JOHN C. FREMONT. 



93 



He was doubly anxious now to find some good routes from the States 
to tlie new possessions on the Pacific, for in February of this year — 1848 — 
gold had been found on the Sacramento River, and many people were 
already starting out to dig for the precious ore. So far there was no 
direct route to California. A long and dangerous journey across Kan- 
sas, Colorado, Utah and Nevada, and through the Rockies and Sierras, 
could be made by land, or a voyage by way of the Isthmus of Panama 
could be made by water. These were 
the best possible ways of getting there. 

Fremont's desire was to find a route _ 
which could be made into a safe and direct : r'"" f fSllHF^ - ^f 1^ 

public line of travel, and it was with 
this object in view that he soon started 
out with his little band. This time he 
went to the South, crossing the northern \ \ o 
part of Mexico, and following the Rio 
Grande del Norte toward California. The 
beginning of the journey as far as Santa 
Fe was made successfully ; but from 
there it became a tour of distress — the 
saddest Fremont ever undertook. 

The route lay through a country ^5^: M/^j^^(^ >il|>- 

inhabited by Indians then at war with an early miner in California. 
the United States, which was danger enough ; but, added to this, 
winter was just coming on, and while they were in the most perilous part 
of their journey, among the snow-covered Sierra, the guide lost his way. 
Finally they were forced to turn back, but before they could get to Santa 
Fe one-third of their men had died of cold and hunger, and all of their 
mules and horses had perished. 

Even this terrible experience did not alter Fremont's resolve to find, 
if possible, a southern pass to the Pacific coast. He hired thirty new 
men to go with him and once more set out, more determined to succeed 
than ever. After a long search he was rewarded, for in the spring of 




94 JOHN C. FREMONT. 

1849 — wlien the gold fever was getting to its height — with the cruel Sierra 
behind him, he again came in sight of the Sacramento River. 

Two years before he had bought a very large tract of land, on which 
there were rich gold mines, and he had resolved, when he left the States, 
to remain upon these after he had found a southern pass, and not go back 
to the East to live. So now he settled down, worked his mines, and began 
to prepare a home for his family. The enthusiasm about gold was draw- 
ing thousands of men to the Territory from all parts of America and 
from Europe, so that California soon had encugh people to become a 
State. Fremont took a great deal of interest in this growth in the coun- 
try he had discovered to the United States and won for the Government, 
and he worked very earnestly to have it made a free State. 

HIGH HONORS BESTOWED ON FREMONT. 

Meanwhile, he was not forgotten at Washington. President Taylor 
soon called upon him to run a boundary line between the United States 
and Mexico, and when that was done, California having been taken into 
the Union, he was chosen by the Legislature to represent the new 
State in the Senate at the national capital. It was during this term 
that the King of Prussia and the Royal Geographical Society of 
London awarded him the honor of their medals for his services as an 
explorer. 

He went to Europe after his term was over, and was treated with 
great respect by many of the most eminent people of the time. Mr. Fre- 
mont spent a few years at about this time in looking after his own affairs, 
but he had not yet given up exploring the great territory of the West. 
When — on his return from Europe — he found the Government preparing 
to survey three railroad routes across the continent, he again fitted out 
an expedition of his own to find a good southern route to the Pacific. 
This time he was successful. 

He went without much difficulty to the place where the guide had 
lost his way in the expedition of 1848, and, following the course, which 
had been described to him by the mountain men whom he asked, he 



JOHN C. FREMONT. 



95 



finally succeeded in picking out a route of safe passes all tiie way to 
the Golden State. But this was not secured without terrible hardships. 
The country was barren, bleak and cold ; the provisions of the party 
gave out, and for fifty days the men lived on the flesh of their horses. 
Sometimes they had nothing at all to eat for forty-eight hours at a time. 

Progress, too, was slow. For awhile they only made a hundred 
miles in ten days ; and so deserted was the region that for three times 
that distance, they 
did not meet a single 
human being, not 
even a hardy Indian, 
for the winter was 
unusually severe, 
and even the savages 
did not venture far 
into the dangerous 
passages, where the 
air was full of snow 
and fogs. 

In this terrible 
distress Fremont 
feared that his men 
would be tempted to 
eat each other, and so 
he called them to 
him one day, and in 
the solemn stillness of the great ice mountains he made them take off 
their hats, raise their hands to heaven and swear that they would 
instantly shoot the first man that should attempt to appease his hunger 
with the flesh of a comrade. 

Little by little they kept pushing on, and at last all obstacles were 
overcome, the fair California valleys were reached, and the jaded, frost- 
bitten band entered San Francisco. One man only was missing. He, 




INDIANS VIEWING A TRAIN OF CARS ON THE CENTRAL 
PACIFIC RAILROAD. 



96 JOHN C. FREMONT. 

poor fellow, was courageous to the last, and died like a soldier, in his 
saddle ; and like a soldier his comrades buried him on the spot where 
he fell. 

The rest, though worn almost to skeletons, survived, and Fremont 
forgot his sufferings in the joy of having gained the object of his journey. 

BELTS OF IRON FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC. 

The Central Pacific Railroad was begun in a few years, and the 
region being richly stored with vast quantities of iron, coal and timber, 
the workmen were supplied with much of their materials as they went 
along. In a dozen years more the great task was completed, and cars 
were running from Bast to West, carrying tourists and emigrants by the 
thousands and spreading prosperity and civilization to the benefit of, not 
this nation alone, but of all people in the civilized world. The Northern 
and the Southern Pacific roads have followed the first one, opening up 
other sections, and calling forth and using the resources of the land all 
the way across the continent, placing our country first among all coun- 
tries in several of the most important articles in the world's commerce. 

Among all the men who have devoted themselves to the success of 
these roads, there is no one to whom the nation owes more than to 
Fremont — who first surveyed the regions — northern, central and southern, 
and who well merits the title, the "Path-finder of the Rocky Mountains." 

The survey of the Central Pacific was the last great exploration of 
his life. In 1856 he was almost elected President by the then new 
Republican party, in the contest with James Buchanan ; he was also 
named for the next President, but withdrew in favor of Lincoln ^At the 
beginning of the Civil War he was made major-general in the army, and 
during the first year had command of the Department of the Mississippi. 
He lost this because he ordered that slaves should be freed by all in his 
district who were in arms against the Union. President Lincoln thought 
he was taking the step too soon, but gave him another command a few 
months later, from which he resigned in June, and left the conflict 
entirely. Fremont died July 13, 1890. 




.yiy^H-j^iv^^fpiJilwr^We 




LEWIS AND Clarke. 



CHAPTER IV. 

UNPARALLELED EXPEDITION— ORDERED BY PRESIDENT JEFFERSON— SKETCH 
OF THE EXPLORERS— THE OSAGE RIVER PECULIARITIES AND CUSTOMS OF 
THE INDIAN TRIBES-RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE RED MEN— COURAGE AND 
ENDURANCE-BURIAL CUSTOMS-DEGRADED CONDITION OF THE SQUAWS 
—TACT AND BRAVERY OF THE EXPLORING PARTY— DISCOVERY OF THE 
SOURCES OF THE MISSOURI— JOURNEY ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS- 
RETURN OF THE EXPEDITION TO ST. LOUIS-DEATH OF CAPTAIN LEWIS. 

The great northwestern part of our country is a 
field of thrilling adventure and romance. It 
was an unknown region previous to the famous 
expedition of Lewis and Clarke, in 1805-1807, 
the centennial commemoration of which was 
celebrated by a Fair at Portland, Oregon, in 
1905. For remarkable adventures, contact with 
tribes of Indians, overcoming appalling obsta- 
cles and wonderful tact and perseverance on 
the part of the explorers, this expedition is 
unparalleled in the annals of modern discovery. 
President Jefferson ordered the expedition 
in 1805 and the carrying out of the dangerous- 
project was given to the two brave men whose names have ever since 
been associated with the heroic undertaking. They were the first white 
men who crossed the continent north of Mexico. Both had made daring 
ventures into the territory occupied by the Indians, and on this account 
were considered well qualified for their enterprise. 

The intermediate country, lying between the western line of the In- 
dian Territory and the Rocky Mountains, and bounded on the north by 
the 49th parallel of latitude, was the dwelling-place and hunting-grounds 




7 APH 



97 



98 LEWIS AND CLARKE- 

of the native tribes, and its plains and streams were the resorts of the 
hunters and trappers of the various fur companies and traders, while the 
country west of the mountains, and extending to the Pacific, presented no 
settlements of civilized man, except the forts and trading-posts of the 
Hudson's Bay Company, and the station of the Christian missionaries 
from the United States on the Willamette. 

THE HISTORY OF LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION. 

At the time that the History of the expedition under Captains Lewis 
and Clarke was first prepared for the press, Mr. Jefferson favored the 
publisher with a short memoir of the life of Captain Lewis, in which he 
showed that his thoughts had early turned upon such a project. While 
he was residing at Paris as American minister in 1787, John Ledyard 
arrived there, with the view of making some arrangements to carry on a 
trade in furs on the northwest coast of America. In this, however, he 
failed ; and Mr. Jefferson then proposed to him an expedition by land 
through the north of Europe to Kamchatka, and thence to the Pacific. 
Permission having been obtained from the Russian government, Ledyard 
set out on his journey, and took up his winter-quarters within 200 miles 
of Kamchatka. But at this time some new consideration on the part of 
the Russian authorities put a stop to his progress, and he was arrested 
and sent back out of their territories. The next year he started on his 
African expedition, and died in Egypt. 

In 1792, Mr. Jefferson proposed to the American Philosophical Society 
a subscription to engage a competent person to proceed to the Northwest 
Coast by land ; and Captain Meriwether Lewis, who was then stationed 
at Charlotteville, in Virginia, was engaged for the purpose. N. Michaux, 
a French botanist, was to be his companion. They had gone on their 
journey as far as Kentucky, when Michaux was recalled by the French 
minister, to pursue in other quarters his botanical researches, which put 
a stop to the enterprise. 

The Act for establishing trading-houses among the Indians being 
about to expire, Mr. Jefferson, in January, 1803, recommended to Congress, 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. 



99 



in a confidential message, an extension of its views to tlie Indians on the 
Mississippi. He also proposed that a party should be despatched to trace 
the Missouri to its source, cross the Rocky Mountains, and proceed to the 
Pacific Ocean. The plan was approved of, and Captain Lewis was, on 
his own application, appointed to lead the expedition. William Clarke, 
brother of General George Rogers Clarke, was afterward associated with 
him. Full instructions were given 
to Captain Lewis as to his route, 
and the various objects to which 
he should direct inquiries, relating 
to the geography and character of 
the country, the different inhabit- 
ants, and their history, and all other 
matters worthy of being known. 

The first tribe of Indians the 
expedition, which consisted of about 
thirty persons, encountered were 
the Osages. The Osage river emp- 
ties itself into the Missouri at one 
hundred and thirty -three miles' dis- 
tance from the mouth of the latter / 
river. It gives or owes its name /(, 
to a nation inhabiting its banks at 
a considerable distance from this type of American Indian. 

place. Their name, however, seems to have originated from the French 
traders, for both among themselves and their neighbors they are called 
the Wasbashas. 

In person the Osages are among the largest and best-formed Indians, 
and are said to possess fine military capacities ; but, residing as they do in 
villages, and having made considerable advance in agriculture, they seem 
less addicted to war than their northern neighbors to whom the use of 
rifles gives a great superiority. Among the peculiarities of this people, 
there is nothing more remarkable than the tradition relative to their origin. 




100 LEWIS AND CLARKE. 

According to universal belief, tlie founder of the nation was a snail, pass- 
ing a quiet existence along the banks of the Osage, till a high flood swept 
him down to the Missouri, and left him exposed on the shore. The heat 
of the sun at length ripened him into a man ; but with the change of his 
nature he had not forgotten his native seats on the Osage, towards which 
he immediately bent his way. He was, however, soon overtaken by hunger 
and fatigue, when, happily, the Great Spirit appeared, and giving him a 
bow and arrow, showed him how to kill and cook deer and cover himself 
with the skin. He then proceeded to his original residence ; but as he 
approached the river he was met by a beaver, who inquired haughtily who 
he was, and by what authority he came to disturb his possession. The 
Osage answered that the river was his own, for he had once lived on its 
borders. As they stood disputing, the daughter of the beaver came, and 
having, by her entreaties reconciled her father to this young stranger, it was 
proposed that the Osage should marry the young beaver, and share with 
her family the enjoyment of the river. The Osage readily consented, 
and from this happy union there soon came the village and the nation of 
the Wasbasha, or Osages, who ever after preserved a pious reverence for 
their ancesters, abstaining from the chase of the beaver, because in killing 
that animal they killed a brother of the Osage. But since the trade with 
the whites has rendered beaver-skins more valuable, the sanctity of these 
maternal relatives has been visibly reduced, and the poor animals have 
nearly lost all the privileges of kindred. 

AN EXTRAORDINARY SIGHT IN THE SIOUX COUNTRY. 

In the country of the Sioux Indians Captains Lewis and Clarke, 
with ten men, went to see an object deemed very extraordinary among all 
the neighboring Indians. They dropped down to the mouth of Whitestone 
River, about thirty yards wide, where they left the boat, and at the distance 
of two hundred yards ascended a rising ground, from which a plain extend- 
ed itself as far as the eye could discern. After walking four miles they 
crossed the creek where it is twenty-three yards wide, and waters an ex- 
tensive valley. We quote from their narrative : 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. 101 

'' The heat was so oppressive that we were obliged to send back our 
dog to the creek, as he was unable to bear the fatigue ; and it was not till 
after four hours' marcli that we reached the object of our visit. This was 
a large mound in the midst of the plain. 

" The base of the mound is a regular parallelogram, the longest side 
being about three hundred yards, the shorter sixty or seventy ; the long- 
est side rising with a steep ascent from the north and south to the height 
of sixty-five or seventy feet, leaving on the top a level plain of twelve feet 
in breadth and ninety in length. The north and south extremities are 
connected by two oval borders, which serve as new bases, and divide the 
whole side into three steep but regular gradations from the plain. The 
only thing characteristic in this hill is its extreme symmetry ; and this, 
together with its being totally detached from the other hills, which are at 
the distance of eight or nine miles, would induce a belief that it was 
artificial ; but, as the earth and the loose pebbles which compose it are 
arranged exactly like the steep grounds on the borders of the creek, we 
concluded from this similarity of texture that it might be natural. 

THE STRANGE SUPERSTITION OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE. 

" But the Indians have made it a great article of their superstition : 
it is called the Mountain of Little People, or Little Spirits ; and they be- 
lieve that it is the abode of little devils, in the human form, about eighteen 
inches high, and with remarkably large heads ; they are armed with sharp 
arrows, with which they are very skilful, and are always on the watch to 
kill those who should have the hardihood to approach their residence. 
The tradition is, that many have suffered from these little evil spirits, 
and, among others, three Maha Indians fell a sacrifice to them. This 
inspired all the neighboring nations, Sioux, Mahas, and Ottoes, with such 
terror, that no consideration could tempt them to visit the hill. 

" We saw none of these wicked little spirits, nor any place for them, 
except some small holes scattered over the top : we were happy enough 
to escape their vengeance, though we remained some time on the mound 
to enjoy the delightful prospect of the plain, which spreads itself out till 



102 LEWIS AND CLARKK. 

tile eye rests upon the northwest hill at a great distance and those of the 
northeast, still farther off, enlivened by large herds of buffalo feeding at 
a distance." 

Captains Lewis and Clarke noted the peculiarities of all the Indians 
whom they encountered. In the course of their report they say : " We 
were struck with an institution peculiar to the Yanktons, a tribe of Sioux, 
who are said to have obtained it from a tribe farther west, namely, the 
Kite Indians. It is an association of the most active and brave young 
men, who are bound to each other by attachment, secured by a vow never 
to retreat before any danger or give way to their enemies. In war they 
go forward without sheltering themselves behind trees, or aiding their 
natural valor by any artifice. This punctilious determination not to be 
turned from their course became heroic, or ridiculous, when the Yanktons 
were once crossing the Missouri on the ice. A hole lay immediately in 
their course, which might easily have been avoided by going round. 
This the foremost of the band disdained to do, but went straight forward 
and was lost. The others would have followed his example, but were 
forcibly prevented by the rest of the tribe. 

THE YOUNG MEN ADMITTED TO THE COUNCIL. 

"These young men sit, and encamp, and dance together, distinct from 
the rest of the nation : they are generally about thirty or thirty-five years 
old ; and such is the deference paid to courage, that their seats in coun- 
cil are superior to those of the chiefs, and their persons more respected. 
But, as may be supposed, such indiscreet bravery soon diminished the 
number of those who practised it ; so that the band was reduced to four 
warriors. These were the remains of twenty-two, who composed the so- 
ciety not long before ; but in a battle with the Kite Indians of the Black 
Mountains, eighteen of them were killed, and these four were dragged 
from the field by their companions. 

"All around, the country had been recently burned, and a young 
green grass about four inches high covered the ground, which was 
enlivened by herds of antelopes and buffalo ; the last of which were in such 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. 103 

multitudes that we cannot exaggerate in saying that at a single glance we 
saw three thousand of them before us. Of all the animals we had seen, 
the antelope seems to possess the most wonderful fleetness. Shy and 
timorous, they generally repose only on the ridges which command a view 
of all the approaches of an enemy ; the acuteness of their sight dis- 
tinguishes the most distant danger ; the delicate sensibility of their smell 
defeats the precautions of concealment and when alarmed, their rapid 
career seems more like the flight of birds than the movements of a quad- 
ruped. 

"After many unsuccessful attempts, Captain Lewis at last, by winding 
around the ridges, approached a party of seven, on an eminence towards 
which the wind was unfortunately blowing. The only male of the party 
frequently encircled the summit of the hill, as if to announce any danger to 
the females, which formed a group at the top. Although they did not see 
Captain Lewis the smell alarmed them and they fled when he was at a dis- 
tance of two hundred yards. He ran to where they had been, a deep ra- 
vine concealed them from him ; but the next moment they appeared on a 
second ridge, at the distance of three miles. He doubted whether the}^ 
could be the same ; but their number, and the extreme rapidity with which 
they continued their course, convinced him that they must have gone with 
a speed equal to that of the most distinguished race-horse." 

THE EXPEDITION TRAVELS UP THE MISSOURI RIVER. 

The reader will bear in mind that the expedition traveled up the Mis- 
souri River, encountering tribes of Indians, friendly and obliging for the 
most part and ready to welcome their white visitors. Curious Indian cus- 
toms and traditions, councils, dances, games and peculiar receptions and 
entertainments by the savages, amused and interested the explorers, all of 
which were faithfully noted and described for the purpose of furnishing in- 
formation concerning the Great North- West. At one point the narrative 
runs as follows : " We passed at an early hour a camp of Sioux on the 
north bank, who merely looked at us without saying a word, and, from 
the character of the tribe, we did not solicit a conversation. At ten and a 



104 



I.EWIS AND CLARKE. 



lialf miles we reached the moutli of a creek on the north, which takes its 
rise from some ponds a short distance to the north-east. To this stream we 
gave the name of Stone Idol creek ; for, after passing a willow and sand isl- 
and just above its mouth, we discovered that, a few miles back from the 
Missouri, there are two stones resembling human figures, and a third like 
a dog, all which are objects of great veneration among the Ricaras. Their 
history would adorn Metamorphoses of Ovid. 

"A young man was deeply enamored with a girl whose parents refused 

their consent to the marriage. 
The youth went out into the fields 
to mourn his misfortunes ; a sym- 
pathy of feeling led the lady to 
the same spot ; and the faithful 
dog would not cease to follow his 
master. After wandering togeth- 
er, and having nothing but grapes 
to subsist on, they were at last 
converted into stone, which, be- 
_^_ V ginning at the feet, gradually 
, .„^^^_ J^^^n:" invaded the nobler parts, leaving 
~mI^ |]g!.jjw^j^ nothing unchanged but a bunch 
of grapes, which the female holds 
in her hands to this day. When- 
ever the Ricaras pass these sacred 
stones, they stop to make some 
offering of dress to propitiate 
these deities. Such is the account given by the Ricara chief, which we 
had no mode of examining, except that we found one part of the story very 
agreeably confirmed ; for on the river near where the event is said to 
have occurred, we found a greater abundance of fine grapes than we had 
yet seen. 

*'In the evening the prairie took fire, either by accident or design, 
and burned with great fury, t):ie whole plain being enveloped in flames. 




MEDICINE MAN IN FANTASTIC COSTUME. 




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DECATUR'S CONFLICT WITH THE ALGERINE AT TRIPOLI 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. 105 

So rapid was its progress that a man and a woman were burned to death 
before they could reach a place of safety ; another man, with his wife and 
child were severely burned and other persons narrowly escaped destruction. 
Among the rest, a boy half breed escaped unhurt in the midst of the flames ; 
his safety was ascribed to the great medicine spirit, who had preserved him 
on account of his being white. But a much more natural cause was the 
presence of mind of his mother, who, seeing no hopes of earring off her 
son, threw him on the ground, and, covering him with the fresh hide of a 
buffalo, escaped herself from the flames. As soon as the fire had passed, 
she returned and found him untouched, the skin having prevented the 
flame from reaching the grass on which he lay." 

TWO YEARS SPENT IN EXPLORATIONS. 

The time occupied by the Lewis and Clark expedition was more than 
two years. In preparation for housing the explorers during their first 
winter, a fort was built in the territory of the Mandan Indians. And 
here it must be noted what consummate tact and ingenuity were employed 
by the newcomers to conciliate the savages, quell any signs of enmity 
and establish friendly terms. Repeated accounts are given of smoking 
the pipe of peace, the exchange of presents, and making friendly visits, 
each party offering the other tokens of genuine hospitality. 

"The morning was fine," says one of the daily records, " and the day 
warm. We purchased from the Mandans a quantity of corn of a mixed 
color, which they dug up in ears from holes made near the front of their 
lodges, in which it is buried during the winter. This morning the sentinel 
informed us that an Indian was about to kill his wife near the fort : we 
went down to the house of our interpreter, where we found the parties, 
and, after forbidding any violence, inquired into the cause of his intend- 
ing to commit such an atrocity. It appeared that some days before a 
quarrel had taken place between him and his wife, in consequence of 
which she had taken refuge in the house where the two squaws of our in- 
terpreter lived. By running away she forfeited her life, which might have 
been lawfully taken by the husband. About two days before she had 



106 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. 



returned to the village, but tHe same evening came back to tbe fort, mucli 
beaten, and stabbed in three places ; and the husband came now for the 
purpose of completing his revenge. We gave him a few presents, and 
tried to persuade him to take his wife home ; the grand chief, too, hap- 
pened to arrive at the same moment, and reproached him for his violence, 
till they went off together, but not in a state of much apparent love." 




INDIAN VILLAGE ON THE ROUTE OF LEWIS AND CLARKE. 
It is the universal testimony that the Red Men are tyrants, and their 
squaws are compelled to suffer the most outrageous hardships and indig- 
nities, such as would not be tolerated in a civilized community. As a 
rule, the squaws are expected to do the work, both indoors and out, take 
care of the papooses, cut the wood, bring the water, hoe the corn, and do 
whatever else needs to be done. The lordly master of the family does 
the hunting and fishing. If any fighting is to be done, he is not found 
wanting, quite content with his manly achievements, especially if he can 
show a good collection of scalps which tell of his prowess and courage. 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. lOT 

Yet the Indians are not without some religious ideas and notions. 
The report makes the following statement : The whole religion of the Man- 
dans consists in the belief of one Great Spirit presiding over their destin- 
ies. This being must be in the nature of a good genius, since it is asso- 
ciated with the healing art, and the great spirit is synonymous with great 
medicine, a name also applied to everything which they do not compre- 
hend. Every individual selects for himself the particular object of his 
devotion, which is termed his medicine, and is either some invisible being, 
or, more commonly, some animal, which thenceforward becomes his pro- 
tector, or his intercessor with the Great Spirit ; to propitiate whom every 
attention is lavished, and every personal consideration is sacrificed. " I 
was lately owner of seventeen horses," said a Mandan to us one day, " but 
I have offered them all up to my medicine, and am now poor." He had 
in reality, taken all his wealth — his horses — into the plain, and, turning 
them loose, committed them to the care of his medicine, and abandoned 
them forever. 

TRADITIONAL BELIEF IN A FUTURE STATE. 

" Their belief in a future state is connected with this tradition of their 
origin : The whole nation resided in one large village under ground, near 
a subterraneous lake. A grape-vine extended its roots down to their hab- 
itation, and gave them a view of the light. Some of the most adventurous 
climbed up the vine, and were delighted with the sight of the earth, which 
they found covered with buffalo, and rich with every kind of fruits. Re- 
turning with the grapes they had gathered, their countrymen v/ere so 
pleased with the taste of them, that the whole nation resolved to leave 
their dull residence for the charms of the upper region. Men, women, 
and children ascended by means of the vine; but when about half the na- 
tion had reached the surface of the earth, a corpulent woman, who was 
clambering up the vine, broke it with her weight, and closed upon her- 
self and the rest of the nation the light of the sun. Those who were left 
on the earth made a village below, where we saw the nine villages ; and 
when the Mandans die they expect to return to the original seats of their 



108 LEWIS AND CLARKE. 

forefatliers, tlie good reacliing tlie ancient village by means of the lake, 
wHcli the burden of the sins of the wicked will not enable them to cross. 
"One day" the narrative continues, "Shahaka, the chief of the lower 
village, came to apprize us that the buffalo were near, and that his people 
were waiting for us to join them in the chase. Captain Clarke, with fif- 
teen men, went out, and found the Indians engaged in killing the buffalo. 
The hunters mounted on horseback, and armed with bows and arrows, en- 
circle the herd, and gradually drive them into a plain, or an open place 
fit for the movements of horse. They then ride among them, and sing- 
ling out a buffalo, a female being preferred, go as close as possible, and 
wound her with arrows till they have given the mortal stroke ; when 
they pursue another, till the quiver is exhausted. If, which rarely hap- 
pens, the wounded buffalo attacks the hunter, he evades the blow by the 
agility of his horse, which is trained for the combat with great dexterity. 
When they have killed the requisite number, they collect the game, and 
squaws and attendants come from the rear to skin and dress them. 

GREAT HERDS OF BUFFALOES ROAMED THE PLAINS. 

At the the time of the Lewis and Clarke expedition great herds of 
buffaloes roamed over our western plains. They have made prey for the 
hunter. This magnificent animal has disappeared. It is even rare to 
find one in captivity. People formerly came here, even from Burope, to 
engage in the brutal sport of killing buffaloes ; not that these animals did 
any damage to any one, but they were fine game, and it was such splendid 
fun to chase and kill them. When President Roosevelt made his most 
recent hunting excursions in the West, the largest game he could find was 
the mountain lion with an occasional bear and moose. 

If any one can present a reasonable excuse for the wholesale slaughter 
of buffaloes and their extermination, he must possess an ingenuity that 
would rank him as a genius of such extraordinary ability as has seldom 
astonished the world. 

Continuing our account of the happenings related by the explorers, 
the following statement is made : " In the morning we permitted sixteen 



IvEWlS AND CLARKE. 109 

men, with their music to go up to the first village, where they delighted 
the whole tribe with their dances, particularly with the movements of one 
of the Frenchmen, who danced on his head (probably on his hands, with 
his head downward). In return they presented the dancers with several 
buffalo robes and quantities of corn. We were desirous of showing this 
attention to the village, because they had received an impression that we 
had been wanting in regard for them, and because they had, in consequence, 
circulated invidious comparisons between us and the northern traders ; all 
these, however, they declared to Captain Clarke, who visited them in the 
course of the morning, were made in jest. As Captain Clarke was about 
leaving the village, two of their chiefs returned from a mission to the Gros 
Ventres, or wandering Minnetarees. These people were encamped about 
ten miles above, and while there one of the Ahnahaways had stolen a 
Minnetaree girl. 

AVENGING AN INSULT TO THE TRIBE. 

'' The whole nation immediately espoused the quarrel, and one hun- 
dred and fifty of their warriors were marching down to revenge the insult 
on the Ahnahaways. The chief of that nation took the girl from the 
ravisher, and, giving her to the Mandans, requested their intercession. 
Messengers went out to meet the warriors, and delivered the young dam- 
sel into the hands of her countrymen, smoked the pipe of peace with 
them, and were fortunate enough to avert their indignation and induce 
them to return. In the evening some of the men came to the fort, and 
the rest slept in the village. 

" In the first village there has been a buffalo dance for the last three 
nights, which has put them all into commotion. When buffalo become 
scarce, they send a man to harrangue the village, declaring that the game 
is far off, and that a feast is necessary to bring it back ; and, if the village 
be disposed, a day and place is named for the celebration of it." Besides 
thi6, there is another called the medicine dance, which is given by any 
person desirous of doing honor to his medicine or genius. He announces 
that on such a day he will sacrifice his horses or other property, and 



110 LEWIS AND CLARKE. 

invites the girls of the village to assist in rendering homage to his medi- 
cine. All the inhabitants may join in the celebration, which is per- 
formed in the open plain, and by daylight ; but the dance is reserved 
altogether for the young unmarried females. The ceremony commences 
with devoting the goods of the master of the feast to his medicine, which 
is represented by the head of the animal to be offered, or by a medicine 
bag, if the deity be an invisible being. The dance follows ; which, as 
well as that of the buffalo, consists of little more than an exhibition of 
the most foul and revolting indecencies. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE AMONG THE INDIANS. 

" We had an opportunity to see an instance of the summary justice 
of the Indians. A young Minnetaree had carried off the daughter of 
Cagonomokshe, the Raven Man, second chief of the upper village of the 
Mandans ; the father went to the village and found his daughter, whom 
he brought home, and took with him a horse belonging to the offender. 
This reprisal satisfied the vengeance of the father and of the nation, as 
the young man would not dare to reclaim his horse, which from that time 
became the property of the injured party. The stealing of young women 
is a most common offence against the village police, and the punish- 
ment of it is always measured by the power or the passions of the kin- 
dred of the female. A voluntary elopement is, of course, more rigorously 
chastised. One of the wives of The Borgne, or chief, deserted him in 
favor of a man who had been her lover before the marriage, and who, 
after some time, left her, so that she was obliged to return to her father's 
house . As soon as he heard it. The Borgne walked there, and found 
her sitting near the fire. Without noticing his wife, he began to smoke 
with the father, when they were joined by the old men of the village, who, 
knowing his temper, had followed in hopes of appeasing him. He con- 
tinued to smoke quietly with them till rising to return, when he took 
his wife by the hair, led her as far as the door, and with a single stroke 
of his tomahawk put her to death before her father's eyes ; then, turning 
fiercely upon the spectators, he said that, if any of her relations wished 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. Ill 

to avenge lier, tliey miglit always find Hm at Hs lodge ; but the fate of tlie 
woman had not sufficient interest to excite the vengeance of the family. 
The caprice or generosity of the same chief gave a very different result 
to a similar incident which occurred some time afterward. Another of 
his wives eloped with a young man, who, not being able to support her 
as she wished, they both returned to the village, and she presented her- 
self before the husband, supplicating his pardon for her conduct. The 
Borgne sent for the lover ; at the moment when the youth expected that 
he would be put to death, the chief mildly asked them if they still pre- 
served their affection for each other ; and on their declaring that want, 
and not a change of affection, had induced them to return, he gave up 
his wife to her lover, with the liberal present of three horses, and restored 
them both to his favor. 

THE SNAKE INDIAN ART OF MAKING GLASS BEADS. 

" A Mr. Garrow, a Frenchman, who has resided a long time among 
the Ricaras and Mandans, explained to us the mode in which they make 
their large beads : an art which they are said to have derived from some 
prisoner of the Snake Indian nation, and the knowledge of which is a 
secret even now confined to a few among the Mandans and Ricaras. The 
process is as follows : glass of different colors is first pounded fine and 
washed, till each kind, which is kept separate, ceases to stain the water 
thrown over it. Some well-seasoned clay, mixed with a sufficient quan" 
tity of sand to prevent its becoming very hard when exposed to heat, and 
reduced by water to the consistency of dough, is then rolled on the palm 
of the hand till it becomes of the thickness wanted for the hole in the 
bead : these sticks of clay are placed upright, each on a little pedestal or 
ball of the same material, about an ounce in weight, and distributed over 
a small earthen platter, which is laid on the fire for a few minutes, when 
they are taken off to cool. 

" With a little paddle or shovel three or four inches long, and sharp- 
ened at the end of the handle, the wet pounded glass is placed in the 
palm of the hand ; the beads are made of an oblong shape, wrapped in a 



112 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. 



cylindrical form round the stick of clay, wliicli is laid crosswise over it, 
and gently rolled backward and forward till it becomes perfectly smooth. 
If it be desired to introduce any other color, the surface of the bead is 
perforated with the pointed end of the paddle, and the cavity filled with 
pounded glass of that color. The sticks, with the strings of beads, are 
then replaced on their pedestals, and the platter deposited on burning 
coals or hot embers. Over the platter, an earthen pot, containing about 
three gallons, with a mouth large enough to cover the platter, is reversed 
being completely closed except a small aperture at the top, through which 
are watched the beads ; a quantity of old dried wood, formed into a sort 

i 




BABY CRADLE OF SLIPPER FORM, 
of dough or paste, is placed around the pot, so as almost to cover it, and 
afterward set ou fire. 

" The manufacturer then looks through the small hole in the pot till 
he sees the beads assume a deep red color, to which succeeds a paler or 
whitish red, or they become pointed at the upper extremity ; on which the 
fire is removed, and the pot suffered to cool gradually ; at length it is 
removed, the beads taken out, the clay in the hollow of them picked out 
with an awl or needle, and they are then fit for use. The beads thus 
formed are in great demand among the Indians, and used as pendants to 
their ears and hair, and are sometimes worn around the neck." 

Thus even the Indians are not without some mechanical ingenuity. 
Their proficiency in making moccasins and baskets has long been well 
known. The squaws seem to have more remarkable handicraft than the 
men. It is quite customary for one tribe to learn from another how to 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. 



113 



make trinkets and useful articles whicli are not only salable among the 
Indians themselves, but also to white traders. 

Lewis and Clarke give us some account of the construction of Indian 
wigwams, or lodges : "In course of the day we passed some old Indian 
hunting camps, one of which consisted of two large lodges fortified with a 
circular fence twenty or thirty feet in diameter, and made of timber laid 
horizontally, the beams overlaying each other to the height of five feet, 
and covered with the trunks and limbs of trees that have drifted down the 
river. The lodges themselves are formed by 
three or more strong sticks, about the size of 
a man's leg or arm, and twelve feet long, 
which are attached at the top by a withe of 
small willows, and spread out so as to form 
at the base a circle of from ten to fourteen 
feet in diameter ; against these are placed 
pieces of driftwood and fallen timber, usu- 
ally in three ranges, one on the other, and 
the interstices are covered with leaves, bark, 
and straw, so as to form a conical figure, 
about ten feet high, with a small aperture 
in one side of the door. It is, however, at 
best, a very imperfect shelter against the in- 
clemencies of the seasons. 

'' Captain Clarke and one of the hunters 
met this evening the largest brown bear we 
have seen since our journey began. As they fired he did not attempt to 
attack, but fled with a most tremendous roar ; and such was his extra- 
ordinary tenacity of life, that, although he had five balls passed through 
his lungs, and five other wounds, he swam more than half across the river 
to a sand-bar, and survived twenty minutes. He weighed between five and 
six hundred pounds at least, and measured eight feet seven inches and a 
half from the nose to the extremity of the hind feet, five feet ten inches and 

a half round the breast, three feet eleven inches round the neck, one foot 
8 A PH 




PYRAMID INDIAN CRADLE. 



114 LEWIS AND CLARKE. 

eleven inclies round tlie middle of the fore leg, and his claws, five on each 
foot, were four inches and three-eighths in length. This animal differs 
from the common black bear in having his claws much longer and more 
blunt ; his tail shorter ; his hair of a reddish or bay brown, longer, finer and 
more abundant, his liver, lungs and heart much larger even in proportion 
to his size, the heart particularly, being equal to that of a large ox, and his 
maw ten times larger. Besides fish and flesh, he feeds on roots and on 
every kind of wild fruit." 

An extraordinary amount of game, both flesh and fowl, was met with 
by the explorers. This was providential. In this way the wants of the 
expedition were supplied, and food was abundant whenever the hunters 
were successful in making a capture. Of course, the party did not expect 
quail on toast or terrapin soup, nor such pastry as would do credit to a first- 
class hotel. They lived the " simple life " on coarse, yet heathful, fare. 

A THRILLING ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR. 

Another adventure v/ith bears is narrated and is of a thrilling descrip- 
'ion : " Towards evening one day the men in the hindmost canoes dis- 
covered a large brown bear lying in the open grounds, about three 
hundred paces from the river. Six of them, all good hunters, immedately 
went to attack him, and, concealing themselves by a small eminence came 
unperceived within forty paces of him. Four of the hunters now fired, 
and each lodged a ball in his body, two of them directly through the 
lungs. The furious animal sprang up and ran opened-mouth upon them. 
As he came near, the two hunters who had reserved their fire gave him 
two wounds, one of which, breaking his shoulder, retarded his motion for 
a moment ; but before they could reload he was so near that they were 
obliged to run to the river, and before they had reached it he had almost 
overtaken them. Two jumped into the canoe; the other four separated, 
and concealing themselves in the willows, fired as fast as they could reload. 

" They struck him several times, but, instead of weakening the mon- 
ster, each shot seemed only to direct him towards the hunters, till at last 
he pursued two of them so closely that they threw aside their guns and 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. 115 

pouches, and jumped down a perpendicular bank of twenty feet into the 
river ; the bear sprang after them, and was within a few feet of the hind- 
most, when one of the hunters on shore shot him through the head, and 
finally killed him. They dragged him to the shore, and found that eight 
balls had passed through him in different directions. The bear was old^ 
and the meat tough, so they took the skin only, and rejoined us at camp, 
where we had been as much terrified by an accident of a different kind. 

A NARRO^V ESCAPE FROM DROWNING. 

" This was the narrow escape of one of our canoes, containing all our 
papers, instruments, medicine, and almost every article indispensable for 
the success of our enterprise. The canoe being under sail, a sudden 
squall of wind struck her obliquely and turned her considerably. The 
man at the helm, who was unluckily the worst steersman of the party, 
became alarmed, and, instead of putting her before the wind, luffed her up 
into it. The wind was so high that it forced the brace of the squaresail 
out of the hand of the man who was attending it, and instantly upset the 
canoe, which would have turned bottom upward but for the resistance made 
by the awning. Such was the confusion on board, and the waves ran so 
high, that it was half a minute before she righted, and then nearly full of 
water, but by bailing her out she was kept from sinking until they rowed 
ashore. 

" Besides the loss of the lives of three men, who, not being able to swim 
would probably have perished, we should have been deprived of nearly 
everything necessary for our purposes, at a distance of between two and 
three thousand miles from any place where we could supply the deficiency." 

The parties which had been sent out to ascertain the character of the 
two rivers farther on, in order to determine which was the true Missouri, 
returned in the evening, but without any information that seemed to settle 
the point. 

Under these circumstances, it became necessary that there should be 
a more thorough exploration, and the next morning Captains Lewis and 
Clarke set out at the head of two separate parties, the former to examine 



116 LEWIS AND CLARKE. 

the nortii, and tlie latter the south fork. In his progress Captain Lewis 
and his party were frequently obliged to quit the course of the river and 
cross the plains and hills, but he did not loose sight of its general direc- 
tion, and very carefully and deliberately took the bearings of the distant 
mountains. 

On the morning of the third day he became convinced that this river 
pursued a course too far north for his contemplated route to the Pacific, 
and he accordingly determined to return, but judged it advisable to wait 
till noon, that he might obtain a meridian altitude. In this, however, he 
was disappointed, owing to the state of the weather. Much rain had fallen, 
and their return was somewhat difficult, and not unattended with danger, 
as the following incident will show : 

RESCUED FROM A TERRIBLE SITUATION. 

" In passing along the side of a bluff at a narrow pass, thirty yards in 
length. Captain Lewis slipped, and, but for a fortunate recovery by means 
of his hand-pike, would have been precipitated into the river over a precipice 
of about ninety feet. He had just reached a spot where, by the assistance 
of his pike, he could stand with tolerable safety, when he heard a voice 
behind him cry out, ' Good God, captain, what shall I do ? ' He turned 
instantly, and found it was one of his party, who had lost his foothold 
about the middle of the narrow pass, and had slipped down to the very 
verge of the precipice, where he lay on his belly, with his right arm and 
leg over it, while with the other leg and arm he was with difficulty hold- 
ing on, to keep himself from being dashed to pieces below. 

" His dreadful situation was instantly perceived by Captain Lewis, 
who, stifling his alarm, camly told him that he was in danger ; that he 
should take his knife out of his belt with his right hand, and dig a hole in 
the side of the bluff to receive his right foot. With great presence of mind 
he did this, and then raised himself on his knees. Captain Lewis then 
told him to take off his moccasins, and come forward on his hands and 
knees, holding the knife in one hand and rifle in the other. He immedi- 
ately crawled in this way till he came to a secure spot. The men who had 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. 117 

not attempted this passage were ordered to return, and wade the river at 
the foot of the bluff, where they found the water breast high, 

" This adventure taught them the danger of crossing the slippery 
heights of the river ; but, as the plains were intersected by deep ravines 
almost as difi&cult to pass, they continued down the stream, sometimes in the 
mud of the low grounds, sometimes up to their arms in the water, and when 
it became too deep to wade, they cut foot holds with their knifes in the sides 
of the banks. In this way they travelled through the rain, mud, and 
water ; and, having made only eighteen miles during the whole day, 
encamped in an old Indian lodge of sticks, which afforded them a dry 
shelter. Here they cooked part of six deer they had killed in the course 
of their route, and, having eaten the only morsel they had tasted during 
the whole day, slept comfortably on some willow boughs." 

DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCES OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. 

The limits of the present account of Lewis and Clarke, the daring 
pioneer heroes whose exploits are the theme of romantic history, will not 
permit us to follow them through all their experiences. By their bold 
enterprise new light was thrown upon our wonderful Northwest. The 
darkness that had hidden that territory from the rest of the nation was 
dissipated, and a world of marvels was revealed. 

The sources of the Missouri River were discovered. Many other 
streams were traced, some of which were of amazing size. The character 
of the soil and vegetable products was ascertained. The majestic Rocky 
Mountains, many of their towering summits capped with snow, were found 
to be among the grandest marvels of the New World. Very complete infor- 
mation was obtained concerning the Indian tribes, remnants of some being 
still in existence. It was seen that Mr. Jefferson made no mistake in the 
vast importance he attached to the expedition. It was triumphantly 
achieved by men whose names will ever be eulogized in our pioneer 
history. 

One of the most interesting and valuable features of the expedition, 
especially to the scientific world, relates to the animal life of the North- 



118 



I.EWIS AND CLARKE. 



West. The quadrupeds of the country extending from the Rocky Moun- 
tains to the Pacific may be conveniently divided into domestic and wild 
animals. The first class embraces the horse and dog only. 

The horse is confined principally to the nations inhabiting the great 
plains of the Columbia, extending from the Rocky Mountains to a range 




INDIAN LIFE IN THEIR NATIVE FORESTS. 

of mountains which pass the Columbia near the Great Falls. They 
appear to be of an excellent race ; are lofty, elegantly formed, active, and 
hardy ; and many of them appear like fine English coursers. Some of 
them are pied, with large spots of white irregularly distributed, and inter- 
mixed with a dark-brown bay ; the greater part, however, are of a uniform 
color, marked with stars and white feet, and in fleetness and bottom, as 
well as in form and color, resemble the best blooded horses of Virginia. 
The natives sufier them to run at large in the plains, the grass of which 
affords them their only subsistence, their masters taking no trouble to lay 
in a winter's store for them ; and, if they are not overworked, they will 
even at this season fatten on the dry herbage. 



V 

LEWIS AND CLARKE. 119 

These plains are rarely moistened by rain, and tlie grass is conse- 
quently short and thin. The natives, excepting those of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, appear to take no pains in selecting the male horses for breed, and, 
indeed, those of that class appear much the more indifferent. The soil 
and climate of this country appear to be perfectly well adapted to the 
nature of the animals, which is said to be found wild in many parts. The 
several tribes of Shoshonees, who reside towards Mexico, on the waters of 
the Multnomah River, and particularly one of them, called Shaboboah, 
have also a great number of mules, which they prize more highly than 

horses. 

THE ANIMALS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 

The dog is unusually small, about the size of an ordinary cur. He 
is usually parti-colored, black, white, brown, and brindle being the col- 
ors most predominent ; the head is long, the nose pointed, the eyes are 
small, and the ears erect and pointed, like those of a wolf. The hair is 
short and smooth, excepting on the tail, where it is long and straight, like 
that of an ordinary cur-dog. The natives never eat the flesh of this ani- 
mal, and he appears to be in no other way serviceable to them than in 
hunting the elk. 

The second division comprehends the brown, white, or grizzly bear, 
the black bear, the common red deer, the black-tailed fallow deer, the mule 
deer, the elk, the large brown wolf, the small wolf of the plains, the large 
wolf of the plains, the tiger-cat, the common red fox, the silver fox, the 
fisher or black fox, the large red fox of the plains, the kit-fox or small fox 
of the plains, the antelope, the sheep, the beaver, the common otter, the 
sea-otter, the mink, the seal, the raccoon, the large gray squirrel, the 
small grey squirrel, the small brown squirrel, the ground squirrel, the rat, 
the mouse, the mole, the panther, the hare, the rabbit, and the polecat or 
skunk. 

The brown, white, or grizzly bears, which seem all to be of the same 
family, with an accidental variation of colors only, inhabit the timbered 
parts of the Rocky Mountains. They are rarely found on the western 
side, and are more commonly below those mountains, in the plains, or on 



120 LEWIS AND CLARKE. 

their borders, amid copses of brush and underwood, and near the water 
course. 

The sheep is found in manj^ places, but mostly in the timbered parts 
of the Rocky Mountains. It lives in greater numbers on the chain of 
mountains forming the commencement of the woody country on the coasts 




RAILROAD BRIDGE ACROSS THE MISSOURI RIVER. 

and passing the Columbia between the Falls and Rapids. The party saw 
only the skins of this animal (which the natives dress with the wool on), 
and the blankets which they manufacture from the wool. The animal 
appears to be of about the size of our common sheep, and of a white color ; 
the wool being fine on many parts of the body, but not equal in length to 
that of the domestic sheep. On the back, and particularly on the top of 
the head, the wool is intermixed with a considerable quantity of long 
straight hairs. 

The party composing the expedition ascended the Missouri 2,600 




DEATH OF A SIOUX CHIEF IN AN ATTACK ON 
UNITED STATES TROOPS 



LEWIS AND CLARKE. 121 

miles. To the three streams forming the Missouri they gave the names of 
Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin. Leaving a guard for the boats, the 
remainder made their way across the mountains on horses that they had 
captured and tamed. Lewis and Clarke discovered the two rivers that bear 
their names and traced the Columbia River to its outlet in the Pacific 
Ocean. 

In 1809 the expedition returned to St. Louis having been singularly 
fortunate in all its journeyings, and having made discoveries that opened 
the vast region which it traversed to the later march of civilization. 

A donation of lands was made by Congress to the members of Cap- 
tain Lewis's party. He was appointed Governor of Louisiana, and Clarke 
agent for Indian affairs. Captain Lewis died in 1S09, by his own hand, 
when on his way to Philadelphia to superintend the publication of his 
journals. His mind had been affected and his health broken down by 
the severe hardships and sufferings he endured, but high on the immor- 
tal scroll that bears the names of our nation's most heroic pioneers stand 
the honored names of Lewis and Clarke. 




DAVID CROCKETT. 




CHAPTER V. 

ECCENTRIC CHARACTER— IN THE WAR OF THE CREEK INDIANS— HIS MAR- 
RIAGE—REMOVAL TO A NEW SETTLEMENT— BACKWOODS MAGISTRATE— AD- 
VENTURES WITH BEARS AND INDIANS— MEMBER OF THE STATE LEGISLA- 
TURE—MEMBER OF CONGRESS— TOUR THROUGH THE NORTH— GOES TO 
FIGHT FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF TEXAS-AT THE FAMOUS SIEGE OF 
THE ALAMO -KILLED IN A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER. 

The original humorist, backwoodsman, eccentric and famous David 
Crocket begins his autobiography on this wise : " Seeking no ornament 
or coloring for a plain, simple tale of truth, I throw aside all hypocritical 
and fawning apologies, and according to my own maxin, * just go ahead.' 

" Where I am not known, I might, perhaps, gain some little credit 
by having thrown around this volume some of the flowers of learning ; 
but where I am known, the vile cheatery would soon be detected, and like 
the foolish jackdaw, that with borrowed tail attempted to play the pea- 
cock I should be justly robbed of my pilfered ornaments, and sent forth 
to strut without a tail for the balance of my time. I shall commence my 
book with what little I have learned of the history of my father, as all 
' great men ' rest many, if not most, of their hopes on their noble ances- 
try. Mine was poor, but I hope honest, and even that is as much as 
many a man can sa3^" 

David had a rough, frontier life in his boyhood, and it is a great 

credit to his natural ability, his pluck and perseverance, that he became 

a man of national reputation and one of the sturdy pioneers in the 

middle States and the Southwest. He seemed to have a genius when 

young for falling in love, and after one or two disappointments found a 
122 



DAVID CROCKETT. 128 

wife who was well suited to his somewhat erratic disposition and was not 
annoyed by his oddities. 

Among Crockett's military achievements the first was the part he 
acted in the war with the Creek Indians. We will let him recount this 
in his own off-hand way. 

" I was living ten miles below Winchester, Va., when the Creek war 
commenced ; and as military men are making so much fuss in the world 
at this time, I must give an account of the part I took in the defence of 
the country. If it should make me President, why I can't help it ; such 
things will sometimes happen, and my pluck is, never to ' seek nor decline 
office.' 

"It is true, I had a little rather not ; but yet, if the government 

can't get on without taking another President from Tennessee, to finish 

the work of 'retrenchment and reform,' why, then, I reckon I must go 

in for it. 

THE CREEK MASSACRE AT FORT MIMMS. 

" The Creek Indians had commenced their open hostilities by a most 
bloody butchery at Fort Mimms. There had been no war among us for 
so long, that but few who were not too old to bear arms, knew anything 
about the business. I, for one, had often thought about war, and had 
often heard it described ; and I did verily believe in my own mind, that I 
couldn't fight in that way at all ; but my after experience convinced me 
that this was all a notion. For, when I heard of the mischief which was 
done at the fort, I instantly felt like going, and I had none of the dread 
of dying that I expected to feel. In a few days, a general meeting of the 
militia was called, for the purpose of raising volunteers ; and when the 
day arrived for that meeting, my wife, who had heard me say I meant to 
go to the war, began to beg me not to turn out. She said she was a 
stranger in the parts where we lived, had no connections living near her, 
and that she and our little children would be left in a lonesome and 
unhappy situation if I went away. 

" It was mighty hard to go against such arguments as these ; but 
my countrymen had been murdered, and I knew that the next thing 



124 



DAVID CROCKETT. 



would be tliat fhe Indians would be scalping tbe women and cbildren all 
about there, if we didn't put a stop to it. I reasoned tbe case with her 
as well as I could, and told her that if every man would wait till his wife 
got willing for him to go to war, there would be no fighting done, until 
we would all be killed in our own houses ; that I was as able to go as any 
man in the world, and that I believed it was a duty I owed to my country. 




PIONEERS MEETING HOSTILE INDIANS. 

Whether she was satisfied with this reasoning or not, she did not tell me, 
but seeing I was bent on it, all she did was to cry a little, and turn about 
to her work. The truth is, my dander was up, and nothing but war could 
bring it right again." 

Having acted a gallant part in the war with the Creeks, Crockett 
enlisted in what is known as the Florida war. Here, too, his cool courage 
and patriotic devotion to the army were conspicuous. In every skirmish 
with the Indians his fearlessness was evident, and he soon became known 
as one of the most noted pioneer fighters. His wife having died he mar- 
ried again, and continues his amusing narrative : 



DAVID CROCKETT. 125 

" The place on wHcli I lived was sickly, and I was determined to 
leave it. I therefore set out the next fall to look at the country which 
had been purchased of the Chickasaw tribe of Indians. I went on to a 
place called Shoal Creek, about eighty miles from where I lived, and here 
again I got sick. I took the ague and fever, which I supposed was 
brought on by my camping out. I remained here for some time, as I was 
unable to go farther ; and in that time I became so well pleased with the 
country about there, that I resolved to settle in it. It was just only a 
little distance in the purchase, and no order had been established there ; 
but I thought I could get along without order as well as anybody else. 
And so I moved and settled myself down on the head of Shoal Creek. 

APPOINTED A BACKWOODS MAGISTRATE. 

'' We remained here some two or three years, without any law at all ; 
and so many bad characters began to flock in upon us, that we found it 
necessary to set up a sort of temporary government of our own. I don't 
mean that we made any president, and called him the 'government,' 
but we met, and appointed magistrates and constables to keep order. We 
didn't fix any laws for them, though ; for we supposed they would know 
law enough, whoever they might be ; but so we left it to themselves to fix 
the laws. 

"I was appointed one of the magistrates ; and when a man owed a 
debt, and wouldn't pay it, I and my constable ordered our warrant, and 
then he would take the man, and bring him before me for trial. I would 
give judgment against him, and then an order for an execution would 
easily scarce the debt out of him. If any one was charged with marking 
his neighbor's hogs, or with stealing anything, — which happened pretty 
often in those days, — I would have him taken, and if there were tolerable 
grounds for the charge, I would have him well whipp'd and cleared. 

" We kept this up till our Legislature added us to the white settle- 
ments in Giles county, and appointed magistrates by law, to organize 
matters in the parts where I lived. They appointed nearly every man a 
magistrate who had belonged to our corporation. I was then, of course, 



126 DAVID CROCKETT. 

made a squire, according to law ; though now tlie honor rested more 
heavily on me than before. For, at first, whenever I told my constable, 
says I — " Catch that fellow and bring him up for trial," — away he went, 
and the fellow must come, dead or alive ; for we considered this a good 
warrant though it was only in verbal writing. But after I was appointed 
by the assembly, they told me my warrants must be in real writing, and 
signed ; and that I must keep a book, and write my proceedings in it. 
This was a hard business on me, for I could just barely write my own 
name ; but to do this, and write the warrants, too, was at least a huckle- 
berry over my persimmon. 

COMMON SENSE AND A HIGH REGARD FOR JUSTICE. 

" I had a pretty well informed constable, however, and he aided me 
very much in this business. Indeed, I had so much confidence in him, 
that I told him, when we should happen to be out anywhere, and see that 
a warrant was necessary, and would have a good efi"ect, he needn't take 
the trouble to come all the way to me to get one, but he could just fill out 
one ; and then on the trial I could correct the whole business if he had 
committed any error. In this way I got on pretty well, till by care and 
attention I improved my handwriting in such a manner as to be able to 
prepare my warrants, and keep my record book without much difficulty. 
My judgments were never appealed from, and if they had been, they 
would have stuck like wax, as I gave my decisions on the principles of 
common justice and honesty between man and man, and relied on natural 
born sense, and not on law learning to guide me ; for I had never read a 
page in a law book in all my life." 

In short, common sense and a high regard for justice were conspicu- 
ous traits of Crockett. In commenting upon his experiences he says : 

" I just now began to take a rise, as in a little time I was asked to 
stand for the Legislature in the counties of Lawrence and Heckman. I 
offered my name in the month of February, and started about the first of 
March with a drove of horses to the lower part of the State of North Car- 
olina. This was in the year 182 1, and I was gone upwards of three months. 



DAVID CROCKETT. 127 

I returned, and set out electioneering, wliicli was a bran-fire new business 

to me. It now became necessary that I should tell the people something 

about the government, and an eternal sight of other things that I knowed 

nothing more about than I did about Latin and law, and such things as 

that. In those days none of us called General Jackson the government, 

nor did he seem in as fair a way to become so as I do now ; but I knowed so 

little about it, that if any one had told me he was ' the government,' I 

should have believed it, for I had never read even a newspaper in my life, 

or anything else on the subject. But over all my difficulties, it seems to 

me I was born for luck, though it would be hard for any one to guess 

what sort. 

A GREAT SQUIRREL HUNT ON DUCK RIVER. 

" I went first into Heckman county, to see what I could do among the 
people as a candidate. Here they told me that they wanted to move their 
town nearer to the centre of the county, and I must come out in favor of 
it. Hanged if I knowed what this meant, or how the town was to be 
moved ; and so I kept dark, going on the identical same plan that I now 
find is called ' noncommittal.' About this time there was a great squirrel 
hunt on Duck river, which was among my people. They were to hunt 
two days ; then to meet and count the scalps, and have a big barbecue, and 
what might be called a tip-top country frolic. The dinner, and a general 
treat, was all to be paid for by the party having taken the fewest scalps' 
I joined one side, taking the place of one of the hunters, and got a gun 
ready for the hunt. I killed a great many squirrels, and when we counted 
scalps, my party was victorious. 

" The company had everything to eat and drink that could be fur- 
nished in so new a country and much fun and good humor prevailed. 
But before the regular frolic commenced, I mean the dancing, I was called 
on to make a speech as a candidate ; which was a business I was as ignor- 
ant of as an outlandish negro. 

" A public document I had never seen, nor did I know there were such 
things ; and how to begin I couldn't tell. I made many apologies, and 
tried to get off for I know'd I had a man to run against who could speak 



128 DAVID CROCKETT. 

prime, and I know'd, too, that I wasn't able to shuffle and cut with him. 
He was there, and knowing my ignorance as well as I did myself, he also 
urged me to make a speech. The truth is, he thought my being a candidate 
was a mere matter of sport ; and didn't think for a moment, that he was in 
any danger from an ignorant backwoods bear hunter. But I found I couldn't 
get off, and so I determined just to go ahead, and leave it to chance what 
I should say. I got up and told the people I reckoned they know'd what 
I had come for, but if not, I could tell them. I had come for their votes, 
and if they didn't watch mighty close I'd get them, too. But the worst of 
all was, that I could not tell them anything about government. I tried to 
speak about something, and I cared very little what, until I choaked 
up as bad as if my mouth had been jamm'd and cramm'd chock full of 
dry mush. There the people stood, listening all the while, with their 
eyes, mouths, and ears all open, to catch every word I would speak. 

DIFFIDENCE AS A PUBLIC SPEAKER. 

" At last I told them I was like a fellow I had heard of not long before. 
He was beating on the head of an empty barrel near the road-side, when a 
traveler, who was passing along, asked him what he was doing that for ? 
The fellow replied that there was some cider in that barrel a few days 
before, and he was trying to see if there was any then, but if there was he 
couldn't get at it. I told them that there had been a little bit of a speech 
in me a while ago, but I believed I couldn't get it out. They all roared 
out in a mighty laugh, and I told some other anecdotes, equally amusing 
to them, and believing I had them in a first-rate way, I quit and got down, 
thanking the people for their attention. But I took care to remark that I 
was as dry as a powder-horn, and that I thought it was time for us all to 
wet our whistles a little : and so I put off to the liquor stand, and was fol- 
lowed by the greater part of the crowd. 

" I felt certain this was necessary, for I knowed my competitor could 
talk government matters to them as easy as he pleased. He had, however, 
mighty few left to hear him, as I continued with the crowd, now and then 
taking a horn, and telling good-humored stories, till he was done speak- 



DAVID CROCKETT. 129 

ing. I found I was good for the vote at tlie hunt, and when we broke up 
I went on to the town of Vernon, which was the same they wanted me to 
move. Here they pressed me again on the subject, and I could get either 
party by agreeing with them. But I told them I didn't know whether it 
would be right or not, and so couldn't promise either way. 

A PROMISING CANDIDATE FOR THE LEGISLATURE. 

" Their court commenced on the next Monday, as the barbecue was on 
Saturday, and the candidates for Governor and for Congress, as well as 
my competitor and myself, all attended. The thought of having to make 
a speech made my knees feel mighty weak, and set my heart to fluttering 
almost as bad as my first love scrape with the Quaker's niece. But as 
good luck would have it, these big candidates spoke nearly all day, and 
when they quit, the people were worn out with fatigue, which afforded me 
a good apology for not discussing the government. But I listened mighty 
close to them, and was learning pretty fast about political matters. When 
they were all done, I got up and told some laughable story, and quit. I 
found I was safe in those parts, and so I went home, and did not go back 
again till after the election was over. But to cut this matter short, I was 
elected, doubling my competitor, and nine votes over. 

'' A short time after this, I was in Pulaski, where I met with Colonel 

Polk, now a member of Congress from Tennessee. He was at that time 

a member elected to the Legislature, as well as myself ; and in a large 

company he said to me, ' Well, colonel, I suppose we shall have a radical 

change of the judiciary at the next session of the Legislature.' 'Very 

likely, sir,' says I ; and I put out quicker, for I was afraid some one would 

ask me what the judiciary was ; and if I knowed I wish I may be shot. I 

don't indeed believe I had ever before heard that there was any such thing 

in all nature ; but still I was not willing that the people there should 

know how ignorant I was about it. When the time for meeting of the 

Legislature arrived, I went on, and before I had been there long, I could 

have told what the judiciary was, and what the government was, too ; and 

many other things that I had known nothing about before/' 
9 A P H 



130 DAVID CROCKETT. 

About this time Crockett lost all his property by a freshet which 
swept away a grist mill and distillery, for which he was largely in debt 
and had nothing to pay with. He resolved to emigrate again and " cut 
out " for the Obion, where the nearest house was seven miles distant, the 
next fifteen, and so on to twenty. An incident occurred which shows what 
hardships were endured by the sturdy backwoods pioneers. We will let 
Crockett relate it in his own language : 

" I gathered my corn, and then set out for my Fall's hunt. This 
was in the last of October, 1822. I found bear very plenty, and, indeed, 
all sorts of game and wild varments, except buffalo. There was none of 
them. I hunted on till Christmas, having supplied my family very well 
all along with wild meat, at which time my powder gave out ; and I had 
none either to fire Christmas guns, which is very common in that country, 
or to hunt with. I had a brother-in-law who had now moved out and set- 
tled about six miles west of me, on the opposite side of Rutherford's fork 
of the Obion river, and he had brought me a keg of powder, but I had 
never gotten it home. There had just been another of Noah's freshets, 
and the low grounds were flooded all over with water. 

A DANGEROUS TRIP TO REPLENISH STOCK OF POWDER. 

" I know'd the stream was at least a mile wide which I would have to 
cross, as the water was from hill to hill, and yet I determined to go on 
over in some way or other, so as to get my powder. I told this to my 
wife, and she immediately opposed it with all her might. I still insisted, 
telling her we had no powder for Christmas, and, worse than all, we were 
out of meat. She said, we had as well starve as for me to freeze to death 
or to get drowned, and one or the other was certain if I attempted to go. 

*' But I didn't believe the half of this ; and so I took my woolen 
wrappers, and a pair of moccasins, and put them on, and tied up some 
dry clothes, and a pair of shoes and stockings, and started. But I didn't 
before know how much anybody could suffer and not die. This, and 
some of my other experiments in water, learned me something about it, 
and I therefore relate them. 



DAVID CROCKETT. 181 

" The snow was about four inches deep when I started ; and when I 
got to the water, which was only about a quarter of a mile off. it looked 
like an ocean. I put in, and waded on till I come to the channel, where I 
crossed that on a high log. I then took water again, having my gun and 
all my hunting tools along, and waded till I came to a deep slough, that 
was wider than the river itself. I had crossed it often on a log ; but 
behold, when I got there, no log was to be seen. I knowed of an island 
in the slough, and a sapling stood on it close to the side of that log, 
which was now entirely under water. I knowed further, that the water 
was about eight or ten feet deep under the log, and I j edged it to be about 
three feet deep over it. 

A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF A TRYING POSITION. 

" After studying a little what I should do, I determined to cut a 
forked sapling, which stood near me, so as to lodge it against the one that 
stood on the island, in which I succeeded very well. I then cut me a pole, 
and then crawled along on my sapling till I got to the one it was lodged 
against, which was about six feet above the water. I then felt about with 
my pole till I found the log, which was just about as deep under the 
water as I had judged. I then crawled back and got my gun, which I 
had left at the stump of the sapling I had cut, and again made my way 
to the place of lodgment, and then climbed down the other sapling so as 
to get on the log. I then felt my way along with my feet in the water, 
about waist deep, but it was a mighty ticklish business. However, I got 
over, and by this time I had very little feeling in my feet and legs, as I 
had been all the time in the water, except what time I was crossing the 
high log over the river, and climbing my lodged sapling. 

" I went but a short distance before I came to another slough, over 
which there was a log, but it was floating on the water. I thought I 
could walk it, and so I mounted on it ; but when I had got about the 
middle of the deep water, somehow or somehow else, it turned over, and 
in I went up to my head. I waded out of this deep water, and went 
ahead till I came to the highland, where I stopp'd to pull off my wet 



132 DAVID CROCKETT. 

clothes, and put on tlie others, which I had held up with my gun, above 
the water, when I fell in. I got them on, but my flesh had no feeling in 
it, I was so cold. I tied up the wet ones, and hung them up in a bush. 
I now thought I would run, so as to warm myself a little, but I couldn't 
raise a trot for some time ; indeed, I couldn't step more than half the 
length of my foot. 

" After a while I got better, and went on five miles to the house of 
m}^ brother-in-law, having not even smelt fire from the time I started. I 
got there late in the evening, and he was much astonished at seeing me 
at such a time. I staid all night, and the next morning was most piercing 
cold, and so they persuaded me not to go home that day. I agreed, and 
turned out and killed him two deer ; but the weather still got worse and 
colder, instead of better. I staid that night, and in the morning they still 
insisted I couldn't get home. I knowed the water would be frozen over, 
but not hard enough to bear me, and so I agreed to stay that day. I 
went out hunting again, and pursued a big he-bear all day, but didn't kill 
him. The next morning was bitter cold, but I knowed my family was 
without meat, and I determined to get home to them, or die a-trying. 

PERSONAL COURAGE AND GREAT FORTITUDE. 

" I took my keg of powder, and all my hunting tools, and cut out. 
When I got to the water, it was a sheet of ice as far as I could see. I 
put on to it, but hadn't got far before it broke through with me ; and so I 
took out my tomahawk, and broke my way along before me for a con- 
siderable distance. At last I got to where the ice would bear me for a 
short distance, and I mounted on it, and went ahead; but it soon broke in 
again^ and I had to wade on till I came to my floating log. I found it so 
tight this time, that I knov/'d it couldn't give me another fall, as it was 
frozen in with the ice. I crossed over it without much difficulty, and 
worked along till I got to my lodged sapling, and my log under the 
water. 

" The swiftness of the current prevented the water from freezing 
over it, and so I had to wade, just as I did when I crossed it before. 



DAVID CROCKETT. 133 

When I got to my sapling, I left my gun, and climbed out with my 
powder keg first, and tlien went back and got my gun. By this time I 
was nearly frozen to death, but I saw all along before me, where the ice 
had been fresh broke, and I thought it must be a bear straggling about 
in the water. I, therefore, fresh primed my gun, and cold as I was, I was 
determined to make war on him, if we met. 

" But I followed the trail till it led me home, and I then found it had 
been made by my young man that lived with me, who had been sent by 
my distressed wife to see, if he could, what had become of me, for they 
all believed that I was dead. When I got home, I wasn't quite dead, but 
mighty nigh it ; but had my powder, and that was what I went for." 

MAKES A TRIP THROUGH THE NORTHERN STATES. 

This incident of the difficult and perilous journey, for the purpose 
of obtaining a cask of powder, is one of the most remarkable and char- 
acteristic in the whole narrative. It exhibits that determined and reso- 
lute perseverance which raised Crockett from the humblest station to a 
position, which attracted the notice and the admiration of the whole 
country. 

Crockett, as we have seen, gained distinction in that part of the 
State where he lived. Without attempting to follow his whole career, 
eccentric and often amusing, we will condense the narrative by stating 
that he was three times elected to Congress, although once defeated. His 
natural wit, and to some extent his lack of education, made him popular 
among the populace where he resided. His sturdy honesty was the 
admiration of all who knew him. Pioneer, hunter, legislator. Congress- 
man, hitherto comprised the different roles in which he was known. 

He made a tour through the Northern States and received a welcome 
such as is usually accorded to persons of the highest distinction. In Phila- 
delphia, New York and other towns his progress was something like that 
of a conquering hero. His humble origin, his backwoods achievements, 
his military history, and his whole-souled, generous nature, were all ele- 
ments that contributed to his immense popularity. In his speeches, or 



134 



DAVID CROCKETT. 



his attempts at making speeches, he had a happy faculty of making 
some quaint anecdote do the service and carry the conviction to his 
hearers that others tried to gain by the most laborious argument. In 
short, he was Crockett, and there was only one Davy Crockett. 

Colonel Crockett was always of a somewhat roving disposition. We 
next find him fighting for the independence of Texas. He had become a 
good deal disgusted with politics. On his way to Texas he received 




INDIAN CAMP ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD. 

marked public attentions, and the towns through which he passed, nota- 
bly Little Rock, Arkansas, paid him becoming honors. Many persons 
are disposed to think that military ambition took him to the far South- 
west. He met with many adventures on his journey, one of the most 
startling of which he relates as follows : 

"After toiling for more than an hour to get my mustang which had been 
tied out and disabled, upon his feet again, I gave it up as a bad job, as 
little Van did when he attempted to raise himself to the moon by the 



DAVID CROCKETT. 135 

waistband of Ms breeches. Night was fast closing in, and as I began to 
think that I had j ust about sport enough for one day, I might as well look 
around for a place of shelter for the night, and take a fresh start in the 
morning, by which time I was in hopes my horse would be recruited. 
Near the margin of the river a large tree had been blown down, and I 
thought of making my lair in its top, and approached it for that purpose. 
While beating among the branches I heard a low growl, as much as to say, 
* Stranger, the apartments are already taken.' 

A DISAGREEABLE BED-FELLOW. 

" Looking about to see what sort of a bed-fellow I was likely to have, 
I discovered, not more than five or six paces from me, an enormous Mexi- 
can cougar, eyeing me as an epicure surveys the table before he selects 
his dish, for I have no doubt the cougar looked upon me as the subject of 
a future supper. Rays of light darted from his large eyes, he showed his 
teeth like a negro in histerics, and he was crouching on his haunches ready 
for a spring ; all of which convinced me that unless I was pretty quick 
upon the trigger, posterity would know little of the termination of my 
eventful career, and it would be far less glorious and useful than I intend 
to make of it. 

" One glance satisfied me that there was no time to be lost, as Pat 
thought when falling from a church steeple, and exclaimed, ' This would 
be mighty pleasant, now, if it would only last,' — but there was no retreat 
either for me or the cougar, so I leveled my Betsey and blazed away. The 
report was followed by a furious growl, (which is sometimes the case in 
Congress,) and the next moment, when I expected to find the tarnal crit- 
ter struggling with death, I beheld him shaking his head as if nothing 
more than a bee had stung him. The ball had struck him on the fore- 
head and glanced off, doing no other injury than stunning him for an 
instant, and tearing off the skin, which tended to infuriate him the more. 

" The cougar wasn't long in making up his mind what to do, nor was 
I either ; but he would have it all his own way, and vetoed my motion to 
back out. I had not retreated three steps before he sprang at me like a 



136 DAVID CROCKETT. 

steamboat ; I stepped aside and as he lit upon the ground, I struck him 
violently with the barrel of my rifle, but he didn't mind that, but wheeled 
around and made at me again. The gun was now of no use, so I threw it 
away, and drew my hunting knife, for I knew we should come to close 
quarters before the fight would be over. This time he succeeded in fasten- 
ing on my left arm, and was just beginning to amuse himself by tearing 
the flesh off with his fangs, when I ripped my knife into his side, and he 
let go his hold much to my satisfaction. 

A DESPERATE STRUGGLE WITH A COUGAR. 

" He wheeled about and came at me with increased fury, occasioned 
by the smarting orhis wounds. I now tried to blind him, knowing that if 
I succeeded he would become an easy prey ; so as he approached me I 
watched my opportunity, and aimed a blow at his eyes with my knife, but 
unfortunately it struck him on the nose, and he paid no other attention to 
it than by a shake of the head and a low growl. He pressed me close, 
and as I was stepping backward my foot tripped in a vine, and I fell to the 
ground. He was down upon me like a nighthawk upon a June bug. He 
seized hold of the outer part of my right thigh, which afforded him con- 
siderable amusement ; the hinder part of his body was towards my face ; 
I grasped his tail with my left hand, and tickled his ribs v/ith my hunting 
knife, which I held in my right. 

" Still the critter wouldn't let go his hold ; and as I found that he 
would lacerate my leg dreadfully, unless he was speedily shaken off, I 
tried to hurl him down the bank into the river, for our scuffle had already 
brought us to the edge of the bank. I stuck my knife into his side, and 
summoned all my strength to throw him over. He resisted, was desper- 
ate heavy , but at last I got him so far down the declivity that he lost his 
balance, and he rolled over and over till he landed on the margin of the 
river ; but in his fall he dragged me along with him. Fortunately, I fell 
uppermost, and his neck presented a fair mark for my hunting knife. 
Without allowing myself time even to draw breath, I aimed one desperate 
blow at his neck, and the knife entered his gullet up to the handle, and 



DAVID CROCKETT. 137 

readied his heart. He struggled for a few moments, and died. I have 
had many fights with bears, but that was mere child's play ; this was the 
first fight ever I had with a cougar, and I hope it may be the last." 

As an illustration of the singular characters Crockett fell in with in 
Texas, he makes mention of one who seems to have been quite as " wild 
and wooly " and singular as himself. He was a well known hunter. 

" I jocosely asked the ragged hunter, who was a smart, active young 
fellow, of the steamboat and alligator breed, whether he was a rhinoceros 
or a hyena, as he was so eager for a fight with invaders. * Neither the 
one nor t'other, Colonel,' says he, ' but a whole menagerie in myself. I'm 
shaggy as a bear, wolfish about the head, active as a cougar, and can grin 
like a hyena, until the bark will curl off a gum log. There's a sprinkling 
of all sorts in me, from the lion down to the skunk ; and before the war is 
over you'll pronounce me an entire zoological institute, or I miss a figure 
in my calculation. I promise to swallow Santa Ann without gagging, if 
you will only skewer back his ears, and grease his head a little." 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARLY WESTERN PIONEERS. 

This shows the character of the genuine pioneers of the West in those 
early days. 

Early in the last century pioneers from the United States began to 
find their way to Texas which was then a wild country, inhabited only by 
roving Indians and the garrisons of the few Spanish forts within its lim- 
its. One of these emigrants, Moses Austin, of Durham, Connecticut, con- 
ceived the plan of colonizing Texas with settlers from the United States. 

For this purpose he obtained from the Spanish government, in 1820. 
the grant of an extensive tract of land ; but before he could put his plans 
in execution he died. His son, Stephen F. Austin, inherited the rights of 
his father under this grant, and went to Texas with a number of emigrants 
from this country, and explored that region for the purpose of locating his 
grant. He selected as the most desirable site for his colony the country 
between the Brazos and Colorado rivers and founded a city, which he 
named Austin, in honor of the originator of the colony, to whom Texas 



138 DAVID CROCKETT. 

owes its existence as an American commonwealtH. Having seen tlie set- 
tlers established in their new homes, Mr. Austin returned to the United 
States to collect other emigrants for his colony. 

During his absence Mexico and the other Spanish provinces rose in 
revolt against Spain, and succeeded in establishing their independence. 
Texas being regarded as a part of the Mexican territory, shared the for- 
tunes of that country. Upon his return to Texas, Austin, in considera- 
tion of the altered state of affairs, went to the city of Mexico and obtained 
from the Mexican government a confirmation of the grant made to his 
father. Such a confirmation was necessary in order to enable him to give 
the settlers valid titles to the lands of his colony. Mexico at first exer- 
cised but a nominal authority over the new settlements, and the colonists 
were allowed to live under their own laws, subject to the rules drawn up by 
Austin. In order to encourage settlement in Texas, the Mexican Con- 
gress on the second of May, 1824, enacted the following law, declaring) 
" That Texas is to be annexed to the Mexican province of Cohahuila, until 
it is of sufficient importance to form a separate State, when it is to become 
an independent State of the Mexican republic, equal to the other States of 
which the same is composed, free, sovereign, and independent in whatever 
exclusively relates to its internal government and administration." 

EMIGRATION INTO MEXICO. 

Encouraged by this decree, large numbers of Americans emigrated to 
Texas, and to these were added emigrants from all the countries of 
Europe. The population grew rapidly, new towns sprang up, and Austin's 
colony prospered in a marked degree, until 1830, when Bustamente having 
made himself by violence and intrigue president of the so-called Mexican 
republic, prohibited the emigration of foreigners to the Mexican territory, 
and issued a number of decrees very oppressive to the people, and in vio- 
lation of the constitution of 1824. ^^ order to enforce these measures in 
Texas, he occupied that province with his troops, and placed Texas under 
military rule. The Texan s resented this interference with their rights, 
and finally compelled the Mexican troops to withdraw from the province. 



DAVID CROCKETT. 139 

In 1832 anotlier revolution in Mexico drove Bustamente from power, 
and placed Santa Anna at the liead of affairs as president or dictator. 

Santa Anna did not allow them to remain long in suspense, but at 
once despatched a force under General Cos, to disarm the Texans. On 
the second of October, 1835, Cos attacked the town of Gonzalez, which 
was held by a Texan force, but was repulsed with heavy loss. A week 
later, on the ninth of October, the Texans captured the town of Goliad, and 
a little later gained possession of the mission house of the Alamo. Both 
places was garrisoned, and the Texan army, which was under the com- 
mand of Austin, in the course of a few months succeeded in driving the 
Mexicans out of Texas. 

FAMOUS GENERAL SAM HOUSTON. 

On the twelfth of November, 1835, ^ convention of the people of 
Texas met at the city of Austin, and organized a regular State govern- 
ment. Prominent among the members was General Sam Houston, a set- 
tler from the United States. Soon after the meeting of the convention 
General Austin resigned command of the army, and was sent to the 
United States as the commissioner of that State to this government, and 
was succeeded as commander-in-chief by General Sam Houston. 

As soon as Santa Anna learned that his troops had been driven out of 
Texas, and that the Texans had set up a State government, he set out for 
that country with an army of seventy-five hundred men. He issued orders 
to his troops to shoot every prisoner taken, and intended to make the 
struggle a war of extermination. He arrived before the Alamo late in 
February, 1836. This fort was very strong, and was held by a force of 
one hundred and forty Texans under Colonel Travis. It was besieged by 
the whole Mexican army, and was subjected to a bombardment of eleven 
days. At last, on the sixth of March, the garrison being worn out with 
fatigue, the fort was carried by assault. 

The battle was desperate until daylight, when only six men belong- 
ing to the Texan garrison were found alive. They were instantly sur- 
rounded, and ordered by General Castrillon to surrender, which they did, 



140 



DAVID CROCKETT. 




Havo. ^^ 



BE SURE YOU ARE RIGHT THEN GO AHEAD-DAVID CROCKETT. 



DAVID CROCKETT. 141 

under a promise of his protection, finding tHat resistance any longer would 
be madness. Colonel Crockett was of tlie number. He stood alone in an 
angle of the fort, the barrel of his shattered rifle in his right hand, in his 
left his huge Bowie knife dripping blood. There was a frightful gash 
across his forehead, while around him there was a complete barrier of 
about twenty Mexicans, lying pell mell, dead and dying. 

A BRAVE STRUGGLE BY THE TEXAN GARRISON. 

General Castrillon was brave and not cruel, and disposed to save the 
prisoners. He marched them up to that part of the fort where stood Santa 
nna and his murderous crew. The steady fearless step and undaunted 
tread of Colonel Crockett, on this occasion, together with the bold de- 
meanor of the hardy veteran, had a powerful effect on all present. Noth- 
ing daunted he marched up boldly in front of Santa Anna, and looked him 
sternly in the face, while Castrillon addressed " his excellency," — " Sir, 
here are six prisoners I have taken alive ; how shall I dispose of them ? " 
Santa Anna looked at Castrillon fiercely, flew into a violent rage, and 
replied, " Have I not told you before how to dispose of them ? Why do 
you bring them to me ? " At the same time his brave officers plunged 
their swords into the bosoms of their defenceless prisoners. 

Colonel Crockett seeing the act of treachery, instantly sprang like a 
tiger at the ruffian chief, but before he could reach him a dozen swords 
were sheathed in his indomitable heart; and he fell and died without a 
groan, a frown on his brow, and a smile of scorn and defiance on his lips. 
Castrillon rushed from the scene, apparently horror-struck, sought his 
quarters, and did not leave them for several days, and hardly spoke to 
Santa Anna after. 

It is safe to say that among the heroic pioneers whose trials, hard- 
ships and dangers redeemed our country from the wilderness and the sav- 
ages, no experiences and achievements are more noted and thrilling than 
those of Davy Crockett. His well known saying, " Be sure you are right 
then go ahead " has passed into a popular proverb. 




CHAPTER VI. 

COMMODORE STEPHEN DECATUR. 

HERO OF TRIPOLI — HIS YOUTH AND GALLAN- 
TRY — A DARING EXPLOIT — PRESENTED BY 
CONGRESS WITH A SWORD — SAD END OF A 
BRILLIANT CAREER. 

Away back in the early part of the nineteentli century we liad 
great naval commanders. One of these was Stephen Decatur. Commo- 
dore Decatur came of a seafaring stock. The love of the waves was 
inherited from his father, who was a prominent naval man. When 
eight years of age young Decatur made his first voyage under his 
father's care, and it is said that even at this early period he determined 
to follow the footsteps of his sire. Through the aid of Commodore 
Barry, on April 30, 1796, he obtained a warrant as midshipman, and 
was placed on board of the frigate United States. At that time he 
was only nineteen years of age ; a handsome boy, well formed, cour- 
ageous, graceful and attractive. 

Decatur labored hard to make himself master of his profession, and 
he soon became a skilful of&cer, competent to command and direct, and 
worthy of extreme respect. His superior ofSicers soon recognized his 
ability and exceptional merits. 

He became a famous naval hero in our little Tripolitan war. At 

the beginning of the century there were many American vessels upon 

the seas, carrying goods to all parts of the world ; and they had to 

share the fate of the ships of other nations from the pirates of the 

Mediterranean Sea. For several of the Mohammedan States upon the 

northern shore of Africa — Tripoli, Tunis, Algeria and Morocco — made a 
142 



COMMODORE STEPHEN DECATUR. 143 

business of robbing all the passing mercbant vessels they could catcb, 
unless tbey were well paid for letting tliem alone. 

After tbe Americans bad made peace witb England tbey began to 
tbink about tbe rigbt of pajang robbers to let tbem alone. So, in 1803, 
wben Tripoli asked for a larger sum than usual, it was refused. Of 
'course, tbe angry little State began at once to capture our vessels, 
tbinking to bring us to terms. But still President Jefferson refused, 
and, instead of tbe money, be sent out tbe little American navy of gun- 
boats. Among the other ofi&cers was Stephen Decatur, then first lieuten- 
ant on board the Argus. He was only about twenty-three years old, but he 
had been in the navy four years and had already become known as a brave 
and skilful ofi&cer, with a talent for managing men as well as ships. 

EMBARKS IN A DANGEROUS UNDERTAKING. 

After the little squadron had been in the Mediterranean for some 
time, one of the vessels, the Philadelphia, in some way, got aground in 
the harbor of Tripoli, and was captured. Decatur asked permission of 
the commander. Commodore Preble, to try to get her back. This, the 
chief said, could not be done, but after awhile he told Decatur that he 
might go and burn the frigate so that the Tripolitans could never use 
her. The lieutenant set about the task at once. 

The Intrepid, a small boat, was made ready, twenty men were 
picked out of the squadron's crew, and, one calm, dark night, under 
Decatur's command, tbe party set out on their perilous errand. 

The Philadelphia was a good-sized frigate, carrying forty guns, and 
now she was surrounded with other gunboats and batteries, ready to fire 
on the Americans at any moment. Decatur managed to enter the harbor 
and get alongside of the Philadelphia before the Tripolitans knew that the 
peaceable-looking little vessel was manned by the hated "Americanoes." 
Then they raised a great cry and rushed on deck, but it was too late. 
Decatur and his men were on board, with drawn swords. The frightened 
men of Tripoli were in too great a panic to fight, so in five minutes the 
deck was cleared, and before they regained their senses the ship was in 



144 



COMMODORE STEPHEN DECATUR- 



flames from stem to stern and the Intrepid was gliding safely out of the 
harbor. 

For this gallant deed, Dacatur was made a captain and presented 
with a sword by Congress. More decided measures were soon taken 
against the power of the Mediterranean pirates. A land expediti^-G^ 
attacked them on the easterly side, while the town was also bombardec 

from the harbor, 

and Decatur, with 

three American 

gunboats, had a 

desperate fight 

with nine of the 

enemy's vessels. 

He succeeded in 

capturing two of 

them, by a close 

and sharp conflict. 

Just after the first 

one was taken, he 

COMMODORE DECATUR. heard that his 

brother, James Decatur, had boarded another ship whose commander 

had pretended to surrender, and had been treacherously slain by the 

enemy. 

Calling to his men to follow, he rushed on board of the murderer's 
vessel, seizing the treacherous commander, and killed him in a deadly 
hand-to-hand struggle. Decatur's men, following close upon him, had 
surrounded him in the fight and beaten back the Tripolitans that tried to 
force their way to the relief of their chief. One, more successful than the 
others in eluding the Americans' swords, was just aiming a fatal blow 
at Decatur, when one of his followers, who had lost the use of both arms, 
rushed up and received the blow intended for Decatur on his own head. 
Several attacks were now made upon Tripoli by Commodore Preble, 
in each of which Decatur took an active part. His name, it is said, 




COMMODORE STEPHEN DECATUR. 



145 



became a terror all along tlie Barbary coast, and Helped to frighten the 
Bey or chief of the State into making peace the next year, when he heard 




DECATUR AND THE DEY OF ALGIERS. 

that he was coming to attack him again as one of the leading commanders 
of a still larger force than Preble's. 

While our government was busy with England, in the war of 1812, 
10 A P H 



146 COMMODORE STEPHEN DECATUR. 

tlie Dey of Algiers — seeming not to think of how affairs between America 
and his neighbors of Tunis and Tripoli had ended — employed some of his 
ships in seizing our merchant vessels and holding Americans in slavery ; 
but he did not keep it up long after the Great Britain affairs were settled. 
Three months after Decatur returned to New York from Bermuda, he 
was at the head of a squadron bound for Algeria. In a month he passed 
the straits of Gibraltar, and captured two of the Algerine squadron. He 
then pushed on to the State and soon convinced the Dey that the best 
thing he could do would be to immediately sign a treaty promising never 
more to molest American ships again, and to restore at once all the 
Americans he held captives. 

OUR NAVAL POWER A SURPRISE. 

The work accomplished by Decatur caused the whole of Europe to 
respect the naval power of the United States. They had done what none 
of the old navies dared to attempt. They had put a stop to the piracies 
of the Barbary States, and were the means of freeing the ships of Europe 
as well as of America from their robberies and from the heavy taxes they 
had demanded from all nations for many years. 

During the seven years of peace that followed the Tripolitan wars, 
Commodore Decatur was put in command of a squadron in the Chesa- 
peake Bay, and a little later of the frigate Chesapeake. And then, 
although he was but 28 years old, he received the rank and title of 
commander of the navy. 

When the War of 181 2 broke out, he was guarding the entrance to 
Chesapeake Bay, and his first act after the outbreak was to capture the 
English frigate, Macedonia, for which act Congress voted him a gold 
medal. 

After the War of 181 2, Commodore Decatur held the office of navy 
commissioner for five years, until his death, which occurred in a duel with 
Commodore Barron. It had once been Decatur's duty, as a member of 
court martial, to try Commodore Barron for misconduct, and from that 
day Barron imagined that Decatur was his personal enemy, and insisted 



COMMODORE STEPHEN DECATUR. 147 

upon challenging him to a duel, a challenge which, in those days, no 
man considered it honorable to decline. And thus it was that Commo- 
dore Decatur ended his brilliant career on the 22d of March, 1820. 
Decatur was born at Sinnepuxent, Maryland, January 5, 1779. 

His name will always hold high rank among the heroes of our navy, 
of whom there are many that have distinguished themselves. Although 
we are not what would be called a maritime people, and make no boast 
of ruling the sea, yet whenever the emergency has been presented, 
our sailors have proved that they were masters of the situation. Let the 
country be grateful to them. The men who ''go down to the sea in 
ships" and brave not only the dangers of the deep, but the added dangers 
of battle with a formidable foe, should be honored and rewarded by their 
countrymen. 

All the honors bestowed on Decatur were but poor compensation to 
a man who, one might almost say, sailed round the world in search of 
death. Or, if not seeking death, he was prepared for it whenever de- 
manded in the path of duty. And finally, not only was his death 
lamented, but especially the barbaric manner in which it occurred. 
Fortunately, public sentiment concerning dueling has changed, and the 
man who gives the challenge is now considered the coward. 




CHAPTER VII. 

COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 

HERO OF LAKE ERIE — BORN TO BE A SAILOR — 
EXTRAORDINARY VALOR IN BATTLE — FORE- 
MOST RANK IN THE GALLERY OF GREAT COM- 
MANDERS — GRAPHIC STORY OF HIS EXPLOITS. 

The temples reared to their deities by the 
pious inhabitants of Greece and Rome, and even 
the temple erected and devoted to Jehovah by Solomon have been 
razed to their foundations ; but the memories of their patriotic warriors 
still live in the minds, not only of their countrymen, but of all civilized 
men. The martial deeds of Leonidas and Alexander, of Cincinnatus 
and Scipio, of the Maccabees and their like have outlasted the granite 
and the marble, the silver and the bronze. The United States, brief 
as has been her existence as a nation, has not lacked martial spirits to 
carry our beautiful banner into the fiercest frays, and in no battles 
have finer traits of valor been displayed than in our naval wars. 

Among our foremost naval heroes may well be rated Oliver Hazard 
Perry. He was born at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1785. 

At thirteen, when his father retired to Westerly, a small village, 
Oliver could boast of being exceedingly well educated for one of his few 
years. He was an inveterate reader — fortunately of the best class of 
books, by which his mind was expanded, while his morals were improved. 
He, however, did not settle down into a demure boy ; he was as fond of 
innocent sport as any of his companions, and freely participated in all 
that was going on among his boyish associates, particularly in rowing 
and sailing. But this love of sport did not make Oliver indifferent to 
the future. On the contrary, the future hero was deeply thinking about 
148 



COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 149 

his future profession. His mother's ancestors had many of them been 
engaged in warlike deeds, and her animated recitals of the battles in 
which they had figured had filled the lad's Soul with longings to parti- 
cipate in similar adventures. 

As he was scarcely ever out of sight of the sea in daylight, a person 
of his active habits and fearless disposition naturally desired to be a 
sailor, while his father's eminence as a nautical man put it in his way 
to enter the navy. At Newport, in 1806, at a social entertainment, Oliver, 
now a lieutenant in the navy, first became acquainted with the young 
lady whom he afterwards married. Miss Blizabeth Champlin Mason 
was only sixteen, but already she displayed much of the beauty, talent, 
and many other admirable qualities which afterwards characterized her 
through life. 

About this time Perry was associated with his friend. Lieutenant 
Samuel G. Blodgett, to attend to the building of seventeen gunboats at 
Newport. This marks the high opinion already entertained at Wash- 
ington of his abilities and reliableness. In June of 1807, Perry pro- 
ceeded to New York with his fleet of gunboats, but not before he had 
been accepted by Miss Mason as her lover. 

DIRECTED TO BUILD FLOTILLA FOR GOVERNMENT. 

So well satisfied was the government with lyieutenant Perry's 
management of the gunboat building at Newport, that they forthwith 
ordered him to begin the construction of a flotilla of similar vessels at 
Westerly. This employment lasted until April, 1809, when the con- 
struction was finished. During a visit to Washington, Perry obtained 
a year's leave of absence, and availed himself of that honorable leisure 
to make Miss Mason his wife. 

While the brave ofiS.cer and his young wife were enjoying themselves 
on their wedding tour, the probabilities of trouble with England daily in- 
creased. The British cruisers continued to overhaul and search American 
vessels, even in our own waters, seizing seamen under various pre- 
texts, frequently alleging that they were English deserters. Not only 



150 COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 

were the outrages most illegal, but they were generally accompanied 
with aggravating insolence or downright brutality. 

Toward the close of the year, Perry endeavored again to get into 
active service, not only engaging the offices of influential friends, but 
addressing the Secretary of the Navy personally, thus : 

OFFERED SERVICES TO HIS COUNTRY. 

" I have instructed my friend, Mr. W. S. Rodgers, to wait on you 
with a tender of my services for the Lakes. There are fifty or sixty 
men under my command that are remarkably active and strong, capable 
of performing any service. In the hope that I should have the honor of 
commanding them whenever they should meet the enemy, I have taken 
unwearied pains in preparing them for such an event. I beg, therefore 
sir, that we may be employed in some way in which we can be service- 
able to our country." 

On February ist, 1813, Perry received a communication that greatly 
cheered him. Commodore Chauncey, in reply to a letter of his, said 
that he had urged the Secretary to order him to the Lakes. This letter 
conveyed a high compliment from the commodore. " You are the very 
person that I want for a particular service, in which you may gain repu- 
tation for yourself and honor for your country." 

He was to be given command of the fleet which it was determined 
to organize on the waters of Lake Krie. Accordingly, Perry was directed 
to proceed with all due haste to the lake, taking with him a detachment 
of his best sailors from Newport. Two powerful brigs were to be built, 
and launched on the lake. "You will, doubtless, command in chief. 
This is the situation Mr. Hamilton mentioned to me two months past, 
and which, I think, will suit you exactly ; you may expect some warm 
fighting, and, of course, a portion of honor." So wrote his friend 
Rodgers. 

On the auspicious 226. of February, Capt. Perry started for Sackett's 
Harbor. It was a difficult, disagreeable, and even hazardous journey. 
At the very outset, a violent tempest met him in crossing to Narragan- 



COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 151 

sett. But difi&culties inspired instead of daunting him. He spent but 
a few hours taking leave of His family — as it seemed, possibly forever. 
He had for companion his brother Alexander, a boy of twelve ; they 
traveled in an open sleigh a great part of the route. 

The interval between Perry's arrival at Sackett's Harbor and the 
4th of September was spent by the vigilant and painstaking of&cer in a 
series of operations as important, if not as brilliant to read of, as 
winning battles. He had to be continually urging lagging officials to 
forward supplies and men. More particularly was he deficient in 
medical men and officers, both commissioned and warrant. It must be 
remembered that he had to meet a squadron of the British navy, and 
that that Power had just come out of a series of naval wars in which 
their officers had had a practical education in maritime fighting, in which 
the greatest navies of the old world had been completely annihilated. 
The English sailors were mostly veterans, trained to the use of large 
and small guns, while the marines proper have always been deservedly 
classed as the flower of their country's infantry. 

LEADER OF AN IMPORTANT EXPEDITION. 

With us, on the contrary, the few officers that survived from our 
small wars on the Mediterranean pirates had been honorably dismissed 
from the navy, and had obtained situations in mercantile service, and 
were scattered in sailing vessels over distant seas. Our marine corps 
scarcely amounted to a corporal's guard to every vessel. As we had no 
navy yards like England's, France's, or even Sweden's, in which millions 
upon millions of dollars' worth of timber, canvas, cordage, chains, 
anchors, guns and such necessary munitions had been accumulating 
for decades of years, it fell to Perry's lot to be builder, provider, pur- 
veyor, and even paymaster for the whole expedition. 

Meanwhile General Harrison, commanding the Western levies, was 
impatiently urging the young naval officer to break the British power 
on the Lakes, and thus afford his army an opportunity to commence 
active operations against the common enemy. It was about this time 



152 COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERAY. 

that Perry obtained reliable news as to tbe strength of the British 
squadron under Captain Robert H. Barclay : 

" The Detroit, of five hundred tons and nineteen guns, all long, 
except two twenty-four pound carronades ; the ship Queen Charlotte, of 
four hundred tons and seventeen guns, three of them being long guns, 
the Detroit and Queen Charlotte having each one of the long guns on a 
pivot ; the schooner Lady Prevost, of two hundred and thirty tons and 
thirteen guns, three being long guns ; the brig Hunter, of one hundred 
and eighty tons and ten guns ; the sloop Little Belt, of one hundred 
tons and three guns, two long twelves and one long eighteen, and the 
schooner Chippeway, of one hundred tons, mounting one long eighteen, 
making in all sixty-three guns, thirty-five of which were long." 

PITTED AGAINST A VETERAN OFFICER. 

Captain Barclay was one of Nelson's officers at Trafalgar, and was 
badly wounded in that battle ; he was known to be skilful, courageous, 
and ambitious of honorable renown. The of&cers under him were of 
approved capacity and courage. By official report his crews consisted of 
four hundred and seventy sailors and marines. Add the of&cers, and 
the count stood at full five hundred men. 

The fleet under Oliver Hazard Perry consisted mainly of vessels of 
less than five hundred tons ; the Lawrence and Niagara were the only 
ships that exceeded that tonnage, and consequently could not be rated 
as men-of-war. The bulk of the American squadron were weakly built 
and had not even bulwarks of any strength. Their principal armament 
was long guns. The brigs mounted each twenty guns, two long twelves 
and eighteen thirty-two pound carronades. It was only by forcing the 
fighting and coming quickly to close quarters that these could be made 
to tell. Captain J. D. Elliott commanded the Niagara. The other 
of&cers were excellent seamen and of unquestioned courage, but they were 
mere tyros as naval officers. The whole force, in oflScers and men, of 
our squadron amounted to four hundred and ninety ; of these, one 
hundred and sixteen were on the sick lists of the different vessels on the 



COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 



153 



morning of ttie action, seventy-eight cases being of bilious fever. In 
tonnage, guns and men, the British force outnumbered ours. 

Just previous to the loth of September, Perry became .satisfied that 
Barclay intended to give battle. Accordingly he summoned his officers 
to meet him on the quarter-deck of his ship, the Lawrence, and furnished 
them each with their corrected instructions — we quote from Mackenzie's 
spirited recital — and he further explained to them verbally his views 
with regard to whatever contingency might occur. He now produced a 
battle-flag, which he had caused to be privately prepared by Mr. Ham- 
bleton before leaving Erie, and the 
hoisting of which to the main royal 
mast of the Lawrence was to be his 
signal for action — a blue flag, bearing 
in large white letters, " Don't give 
up the ship ! " the dying words of 
the hero whose name she bore. 

When about to withdraw, he stated 
to them his intention to bring the 
enemy from the first to close quar- 
ters, in order not to lose by the short 
range of his carronades, and the last 
emphatic injunction with which he 
dismissed them was that he could not, 
in case of difficulty, advise them bet- 
ter than in the words of Lord Nelson, " If you lay your enemy close 
alongside, you cannot be out of your place! " 

On the loth of September, Barclay's fleet was observed coming 
towards ours. After some very delicate evolutions, Perry told his 
sailing-master to lead in a certain direction. The officer showed that 
such a plan had its disadvantages. " I care not," said Perry, " let to 
leeward or to windward ! they shall fight to-day." 

The Lawrence was ready for action by ten o'clock, when the enemy 
hove to in line of battle on the larboard tack, advancing at about three 




COMMODORE PERRY. 



154 COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 

knots an hour. The weather was glorious, and the British vessels, with 
their royal ensigns and newly-painted hulls glistening in the bright 
sunshine, formed a magnificent spectacle. Never had two braver fleets 
contended for the mastery. 

Controversialists have sought to diminish the skill and bravery of 
either of the officers and men ; but the gallant heroes who had done all 
the fighting did but little of the writing. 

The English commander had arranged his fleet with the Chippeway, 
of one long eighteen pivot, leading ; the Detroit, of nineteen guns, next ; 
the Hunter, of nineteen guns, third ; the Queen Charlotte, seventeen 
guns, fourth ; the Lady Prevost, of thirteen guns, fifth ; and the Little 
Belt, of three guns, last. 

IN LINE OF BATTLE AND EAGER FOR THE FRAY. 

Captain Perry, passing ahead of the Niagara, got into position to 
match the Detroit, placing the Scorpion, of two long guns, ahead, and the 
Ariel, of four short twelves, on his weather bow, where, with her light 
battery, she might be partially under cover. The Caledonia, of three 
long twenty-fours, came next, to encounter the Hunter ; the Niagara 
next, so as to be opposite her designated antagonist, the Queen Char- 
lotte ; and the Somers, of two long thirty-twos, the Porcupine, of one 
long thirty-two. Tigress, of one long twenty-four, and Trippe, of one 
long thirty-two, in succession towards the rear, to encounter the Lady 
Prevost and Little Belt. 

The line being formed. Perry now bore up for the enemy, distant, at 
ten o'clock, about six miles. He now produced the lettered burgee which 
he had exhibited as the concerted signal for battle. Having unfurled it, 
he mounted on a gun-slide, and, calling his crew about him, thus briefly 
addressed them : "My brave lads! this flag contains the last words of 
Captain Lawrence ! Shall I hoist it ? " " Ay, ay, sir ! " resounded from 
every voice in the ship, and the flag was briskly swayed to the main- 
royal masthead of the Lawrence. The answer was given by three such 
rousing cheers as few but American sailors know how to give. 



COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 155 

Slowly but steadily our fleet went on in tlie direction of tlie leading 
line of tlie foe, the leading vessels under reefed sails, but the remainder 
having every yard of canvas set that could possibly draw. No prepa- 
rations rernained to make at this hour. 

Captain Perry, now having made all right in reference to his public 
duties, seized a few moments to attend to his private matters, giving 
instructions what was to be done provided he fell in the approaching action. 
All official papers were prepared with sinkers, to be thrown overboard, 
v/hile he destroyed all his private documents. " It appeared," says Mr. 
Hambleton, "to go hard with him to part with his wife's letters. After 
giving them a hasty reading he tore them to ribbons, observing that, let 
what would happen, the enemy should not read them, and closed by 
remarking, 'This is the most important day of my life.' " 

A thrilling bugle blast from the Detroit rang over the waters, and 
was followed by vehement cheering from the British sailors. 

SIGNALS GIVEN FOR THE BATTLE. 

It was now within a few minutes of noon, the Detroit having reached 
within between one and two miles of our leading vessel. The Detroit 
began the fight by sending a round shot at the Lawrence. It, however, 
fell short of its mark. The proper signals were now flown for every 
ship to engage her designated antagonist. The Ariel, Scorpion, Law- 
rence and Caledonia were in their proper stations, in the rotation given, 
distant from each other less than a cable's length. Some distance 
astern the other vessels were drawing into action. 

In a few moments the Detroit's second shot came hurtling over the 
waves, striking the Lawrence and tearing through the bulwarks. 
Instantly the long guns of the British squadron sent their shot in the 
direction of the American ships, some of them missing, but some carry- 
ing death in their train. Just at noon the Lawrence was suffering from 
the severe fire of the British, which she returned from her twelve- 
pounder. Perry now, by speaking trumpet, ordered the Caledonia and 
the Niagara to discharge their long guns. The vessels still further 



156 COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY 

astern also commenced cannonading, bnt they were too far off to do any- 
material injury. 

THe Lawrence was at a great disadvantage in fighting the Detroit, 
as this latter vessel was armed almost entirely with long guns, while 
Perry had to depend almost entirely on the carronades. For this reason 
Perry was impatient for his own ship and his consorts to close with all 
possible haste. Elliott, of the Niagara, received and transmitted the 
order to the line, but for some inexplicable reason be did not apply the 
order to his own conduct, but held off, occasionally discharging shots 
from her twelve-pounder, without damaging the enemy. 

MURDEROUS FIRE BY A WHOLE BATTERY. 

The Lawrence kept firing on toward the British line, every moment 
receiving shot in her hull and spars. Trying the experiment, he found 
that his shot fell short, so he ceased firing until quarter past noon ; then 
he let fly his entire starboard broadside when he was less than four 
hundred yards away. Then, as he neared the Detroit, he discharged a 
quick and murderous fire into her. The Lawrence, however, had mean- 
while been terribly riddled by the Detroit and her sister craft. But now 
the action was continued by her with augmented fury, and, notwith- 
standing the overpowering odds with which she was assailed, the whole 
battery of the enemy, amounting, in all, to thirty-four guns, being 
almost entirely directly against her, she continued to assail the enemy 
with steady and unwavering effort. 

In this unequal contest she was sustained by the Scorpion and 
Ariel on her weather bow. The commander of the Caledonia, animated 
by the same gallant spirit and sense of duty, followed the Lawrence into 
action, and closed with her antagonist, the Hunter ; but the Niagara 
had not made sail when the Lawrence did, but got embarrassed with the 
Caledonia. One of the British vessels, in the smoke, had closed up 
behind the Detroit, and opened her fire at closer quarters upon the Law- 
rence. In this unequal contest the Lawrence continued to struggle 
desperately against such overpowering numbers. 



COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 157 

The first division of the starboard guns was directed against the 
Detroit, and the second against the Queen Charlotte, with an occasional 
shot from her after-gun at the Hunter, which lay on her quarter, and 
with which the Caledonia continued to sustain a hot though unequal 
engagement. The Scorpion and Ariel, from their stations on the weather 
bow of the Lawrence, made every effort that their inconsiderable force 
allowed. The smaller vessels away in the stern of Perry's line were 
far too distant to be of any service. The will was not wanting, but the 
ability was not there. Terrific as were the odds against the Lawrence, 
being in the ratio of thirty-four guns to her ten in battery, she con- 
tinued, with the aid of the Scorpion, Ariel and Caledonia, to sustain the 
contest for more than two hours with great bravery. 

ALMOST A COMPLETE WRECK. 

At this time, however, her rigging had been much shot away, and 
was hanging down or towing overboard ; sails torn to pieces, spars 
splintered and falling upon deck, braces and bowlines cut, so as to render 
it impossible to trim the yards or keep the vessel under control. Such 
was the condition of the vessel aloft ; on deck the destruction was even 
more terrible. One by one the guns were dismounted until only one 
remained that could be fired ; the bulwarks were riddled by round shot 
passing completely through. The slaughter was dreadful. 

All this while Perry continued to keep up a fire from, his single 
remaining carronade, though to man it he w.as obliged to send repeated 
requests to the surgeon to spare him another hand from those engaged 
in removing the wounded, until the last had been taken. It is recorded 
by the surgeon that when these messages arrived, several of the wounded 
crawled upon deck to lend a feeble aid at the guns. 

The conduct of Perry throughout this trying scene was well calcu- 
lated to inspire the most unbounded confidence in his followers, and to 
sustain throughout their courage and enthusiasm. When a gap would 
occasionally be made among a gun's crew by a single round shot or a 
stand of grape or canister, the survivors would for a moment turn to 



158 COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 

Perry, excliange a glance with him, and step to fill the place of their 
comrades. 

In the hottest of the fight, Yarnall, the first lieutenant, came to Perry 
and told him that the officers in the first division under his command 
were all killed or disabled. Perry sent him the required aid ; but soon 
after he returned with the same complaint of a destruction of his officers, 
to which he replied : " You must endeavor to make out by yourself; I 
have no more to furnish you." 

GALLANT LIEUTENANT STRUCK DOWN BY A SHOT. 

We may give another incident to show the carnage which occurred 
on the deck of the Lawrence, and the destruction by which her commander 
was so closely surrounded. The command of the marines of the Law- 
rence was intrusted to Lieutenant John Brooks, a gay, amiable, and 
intelligent young officer, whose numerous good qualities were enhanced 
in their effects by the rarest personal beauty. He was addressing Perry 
with a smile and in an animated tone, with regard to some urgent point 
of duty, when he was struck down by a shot. The terrible hurt made 
him utter an agonized cry, and he besought Perry to shoot him dead. 
He was tenderly taken below deck. 

Little Midshipman Perry, then but twelve years old, had his clothes 
rent, and received more than one ball through his hat, when a part of a 
hammock was torn from its netting and dashed against the lad's side. 
As it luckily happened he was merely stunned, and the captain saw him 
again on duty in a few minutes. 

The critical moment had now arrived which was to call out all the 
best qualities of a great commander. Nothing like it had ever occurred 
before in all the strange mutations of a naval action. When the last 
cannon of the Lawrence had been rendered unserviceable ; when but 
twenty persons, including his little brother and himself, were able even 
to make a show of being able-bodied, it became evident that some new 
measure must be resorted to. Heretofore, in such a case, there had been 
but one way : to strike the flag. And such a course could have been 



COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 159 

honorably taken. But Perry was " made of sterner stuff," and his whole 
soul seemed imbued with Lawrence's noble motto, " Don't give up the 
ship." 

He had striven with might and main to get his vessels built and 
launched ; he had hurried his superiors into furnishing him with sup- 
plies and men ; he had given General Harrison to hope that his squadron 
would strike a blow that would cut the Gordian knot by which the eager 
armies of the West were bound, as Samson by the green withes ; he had 
evidently made up his mind that he would never be taken out of his ship 
unless he was sewed up in a hammock. Moments now were priceless, 
and Perry rapidly made up his mind what to do. The Lawrence was 
helplessy drifting, sailless and rudderless, when, as for a moment the smoke 
was blown away, he was able to take the bearings of his surroundings. 
Lieutenant Forrest called his attention to the queer way in which the 
Niagara was handled. She was well on the larboard beam of the Law- 
rence ; the Caledonia, at the same time, was passing on the starboard 
beam, between the enemy and Perry's stricken ship. Forrest said plainly 
that the Niagara was evidently determined not to help them ; as she 
seemed to carefully avoid coming into close action. " Then I must fetch 
her up," was Perry's sententious remark. And he quickly called his boat. 

PERRY PUSHES OFF IN AN OPEN BOAT. 

He wss convinced that the Niagara was scarcely injured at all ; and 
he vowed that the flag of his country should not be pulled down on any 
vessel that he was on board of. His reliable second was at once placed 
in command of what was now little more than a floating hulk. The 
boat was at the larboard gangway, the word was given, the oars took 
water, but ere they shoved off. Perry exclaimed, "If a victory is to be had, 
I'll have it ! " 

When Perry shoved off in the boat that bore "Caesar and his for- 
tunes.," it was just half past two. The Niagara was at that moment pass- 
ing her larboard beam, some half mile away. The wind had increased, 
and she was quickly going away from the British fleet. Perry stood at 



160 COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 

his full heiglit, his breast charged with the grandeur of his design ; to 
take a fresh vessel, and dash back in the midst of the enemy, who had 
already deemed him whipped, and once again try conclusions with his 
stubborn adversary. Had not Perry been something more than merely 
a brave of&cer, the idea would never have occurred to him. 

But, as we have seen, almost from his infancy he had been on the 
M^ater. He had played on the rolling logs in the harbor before he ever had 
any experience in managing a skiff, and he had rowed and sailed in every 
sort of craft that could be kept afloat on the stormy, tide-vexed shores of 
Narragansett. So that it was second nature for him, for the nonce, to 
leap into a boat, and stand proudly erect in her. Nelson, it is said, used 
to get seasick in a gun-brig, so he certainly would never have thought 
of an admiral taking to a barge in the height of a furious battle. 

STANDS ERECT IN THE FACE OF THE ENEMY. 

So it will be seen that it was almost providential that Perry pos- 
sessed the qualifications that he owned. Quick as had been the captain's 
resolve and its execution, the enemy almost as quickly saw his design. 

Great guns and musketry were rapidly sending their missiles, in the 
hope of sending the little boat to destruction. In vain Perry's crew 
begged of him to be seated, and it was only when they declared that 
they would not pull another stroke while he remained standing that he 
finally yielded. It hardly needs telling that the brave fellows, some 
wounded and dying, followed every movement of Perry and his brave 
crew as they made the desperate passage from ship to ship; and as 
they saw him step on the deck of the Niagara they saluted him with 
soul-fraught cheers. 

As there was nothing to be gained by keeping the Lawrence a mere 
floating target for British guns, her few remaining ofi&cers held a brief con- 
sultation and resolved to surrender. As the colors fluttered down, their 
descent was saluted with cheers by the foe, who knew too well the stuff of 
which her gallant defenders were made. About this time young Brooks 
died, and Mr. Hambleton, the purser, volunteering to a post of danger, 






w 




COMMODORE PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE. 



11 APH 



161 



162 COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 

liad his shoulder fearfully torn. He was working at the last gun that 
fired a shot. 

The British had their hands too full in working out their own safety 
to give any further heed to the condition of the Lawrence. When Perry 
reached the deck of the Niagara, he was met at the gangway by Captain 
Elliott, who inquired how the day was going. Captain Perry replied, 
badly ; that he had lost almost all of his men, and that his ship was a 
wreck ; and asked what the gunboats were doing so far astern. Captain 
Elliott offered to go and bring them up ; and Captain Perry consenting, 
he sprang into the boat and went off on that duty. 

LOUD CHEERS ALL ALONG THE LINE. 

Perry at once ordered that the Niagara should be prevented from 
escaping out of action. The top-gallant sails were set, and the signal for 
''close action " was given. As the pennants were seen, loud cheers 
resounded down the line. By great efforts Lieutenant Holdup Stevens, 
who had been astern of the line in the Trippe, soon closed up to the 
assistance of the Caledonia, and the remaining vessels approached rapidly, 
to take a more active part in the battle, under the influence of the increas- 
ing breeze. 

The helm had been put up on board the Niagara, sail made, and the 
signal for close action hove out at forty-five minutes after two, the instant 
after Perry had boarded her. With the increased breeze, seven or eight 
minutes sufi&ced to traverse the distance of more than half a mile which 
still separated the Niagara from the enemy. The Detroit made an effort 
to wear, in order to present her starboard broadside to the Niagara, 
several of the larboard guns being disabled. As this evolution com- 
menced on board the Detroit, the Queen Charlotte was running up under 
her lee. The evolution of wearing, which was not quickly enough done 
on board the Queen, resulted in the latter running her bowsprit and 
head-booms foul of the mizzen rigging of the Detroit. 

The two British ships were thus foul of each other and they so re- 
mained, when the Niagara, shortening sail, went slowly under the bows 



COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 163 

of the Detroit, wittiin short pistol-shot, and sent a broadside into each 
vessel ; so that, entangled as they were, they received fearful showers of 
grape and canister. The sterns of the Little Belt and the Lady Prevost 
were treated to the same awful fire, while the marines, by their skilfully 
aimed shots, swept their decks. At this juncture the small vessels also 
came into close action to windward, and poured in a destructive fire of 
grape and canister ; their shot and that of the Niagara, whenever it missed 
its mark, passing the enemy and taking effect reciprocally on our own 
vessels, which were thus exposed to danger. 

ENEMY'S SHIPS HAUL DOWN THEIR FLAGS. 

All resistance now ceased ; an officer appeared on the taffrail of the 
Queen to signify that she had struck, and her example was immediately 
followed by the Detroit. Both vessels struck in about seven minutes 
after the Niagara opened this most destructive fire, and about fifteen 
minutes after Perry took command of her. The Hunter struck at the 
same time, as did the Lady Prevost, which lay to leeward under the guns 
of the Niagara. The battle had begun on the part of the enem37- at a 
quarter before meridian ; at three the Queen Charlotte and Detroit sur- 
rendered, and all resistance was at an end. As the cannonade ceased 
and the smoke blew over, the two squadrons, now owning one master, 
were found completely mingled. Now a glorious yet sad time had come. 
The form of taking possession of the British captured ships was to be 
gone through with. When our boarding officer reached the Detroit, she 
was in a fearful state. Her bulwarks were in slivers, strong oak as they 
were ; the Lawrence's carronade shots were sticking in her sides. The 
deck looked like a veritable slaughter-house. 

Agrapeshot had lodged in Captain Barclay's thigh making a fearful 
wound. The brave man had been taken below when senseless, but on 
recovering consciousness he was carried on deck to see if resistance was 
hopeless. Then the Niagara threw in her fire, and a second grapeshot, 
passing through the right shoulder, fractured the blade to atoms. 

The rest of the enemy's vessels were found to be also much cut to 



164 COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 

pieces, especially the Queen Charlotte, which had lost her brave com- 
mander, Captain Finnis, very early in the action ; her first lieutenant 
had been soon after mortally wounded, and the loss of life on board of 
her was very severe ; she was also much cut to pieces both in hull and 
spars. The other vessels suffered in like proportion. The Lady Prevost 
had both her commander and first lieutenant wounded, and, besides other 
extensive injury, had become unmanageable from the loss of her rudder. 
Lieutenant Bignal, commanding the Hunter, and Campbell, the Chippe- 
way, were also wounded, thus leaving only the commander of the Little 
Belt fit for duty at the close of the action. 

Indeed, in the official account of Commodore Barclay, it is stated 
that every commander and every officer second in command was disabled. 
The total of killed and wounded rendered by Commodore Barclay in his 
official report was forty-one killed, including three officers, and ninety- 
four wounded, nine of whom were officers. The returns, on account of 
the condition of the commanders and their seconds in command, could not 
have been ver}^ complete, and the numbers of killed and wounded are 
believed to have been greater. The killed of the British squadron were 
thrown overboard as they fell, with the exception of the officers. 

SCENES TO MAKE ONE SHUDDER. 

On every side were to be seen objects calculated to harrow the most 
obdurate heart. And our own vessels were full of scenes that made the 
boldest shudder. Our w^hole fleet had lost twenty-seven brave men 
killed outright, while ninety-six had been wounded. 

But the lamentation over the heroic victors and their worthy antag- 
onist could not lessen the brilliancy of this splendid victory. The 
British were superior in almost every way : their vessels were larger, 
their guns heavier, their sailors better trained, and their marines were 
veterans; while the commander and many of his subaltern officers had 
been in many battles under the glance of "Britannia's god of war," as 
Byron styled Horatio Nelson. To the nautical skill, read}- invention, 
and indomitable prowess of one man the victory was in great part due, and 



COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 165 

tliat man had but j ust attained his twenty-seventh year ; and strangest 
fact of all, he had never seen a naval battle ! He had dashed boldly into 
action with the Lawrence, counting upon the support of those immedi- 
ately around him, and trusting that the rear of his line would soon be 
able to close up to his support. 

Passing from the Lawrence under the enemy's fire, saved from death, 
as if miraculously, by the protecting genius of his country, he reached 
the Niagara, and by an evolution unsurpassed for genius and hardihood, 
bore down upon the enemy, and dashed with his fresh and uninjured 
vessel through the enemy's line. It was thus that the battle of Lake 
Erie was won, not merely by the genius and inspiration, but eminently 
by the exertions of one man. 

"MET THE ENEMY AND THEY ARE OURS." 

As soon as Perry had taken all precautions for securing his numer- 
ous prisoners and seeing to the comfort of the wounded, he lost no time 
in communicating the result of the battle to the expectant General 
Harrison. For this victory was of paramount importance to the further- 
ance of his plans. The great victory was announced in this brief way : 

" Dear General : We have met the enemy, and they are ours. Two ships, 
two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. 

" Yours, with very great respect and esteem, 

" O. H. Perry." 

To the Secretary of the Navy he also wrote at once. His despatch 

read as follows : 

" U, S. Brig Niagara, off the Westernmost Sister, head of 

Lake Erie, Sept. lo, 1813, 4 P. M. 
" Sir : It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of the United 
States a signal victory over their enemies on this lake. The British squadron, con- 
sisting of two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop, have this moment sur- 
rendered to the force under my command, after a sharp conflict, 

" I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"O. H. Perry," 

Not a solitary syllable of self-glorification. He tamely terms that 
a " sharp conflict" which bears comparison with any naval conflict ever 



166 COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 

fought. Tiie ships were as speedily as possible brought to anchor. So 

few were his guards that he had to take extra precautions to prevent a 

possibility of the prisoners rising during the night. 

Perry, at the request of his officers, had hitherto worn a uniform 

round jacket ; he now resumed his undress uniform, and, standing on the 

after part of the deck, received the officers of the different captured 

vessels as they came to tender the surrender of their vessels and their 

own submission as prisoners. At the head of them was an officer of the 

Forty-first Regiment, who acted as marine officer on board the Detroit, 

and was charged by Commodore Barclay with the delivery of his 

sword ; he was in full dress. When they had approached, picking their 

way among the wreck and carnage of the deck, they held their swords 

with the hilts towards Perry, and tendered them to his acceptance. With 

a dignified and solemn air, the most remote possible from any betrayal 

of exultation, and in a low tone of voice, he requested them to retain 

tUeir side-arms ; inquired with deep concern for Commodore Barclay and 

the wounded officers, tendering to them every comfort his ship afforded, 

and expressing his regret that he had not a spare medical officer to send 

to them. 

SAVED BY A WOMAN'S PRAYERS. 

As it was impossible to reserve all the killed of the Lawrence for 
burial on shore, the seamen were buried at nightfall alongside, the 
able-bodied of the crew, so much less numerous than the killed, being 
assembled around to perform the last sad offices. His little brother, 
though he had received several musket-balls through his dress, had met 
with no injury, and was now dozing in his hammock. An allusion to 
these facts awakened the same sense of a controlling Providence which, 
in beginning his report, had led him to ascribe the victory to the pleasure 
of the Almighty. "I believe," he said, "that my wife's prayers have 
saved me." 

For this brilliant victory Perry was made a captain and received 
from Congress a gold medal. In the Capitol at Washington, is a mag- 
nificent historic painting, which represents the hero of Lake Brie 



COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY. 167 

passing in a small open boat from the Lawrence to tlie Niagara tlirougli 
the fiery storm of battle. 

The. personal appearance of Perry is thus described by one who 
was well acquainted with him : " He was lofty in stature, and of a most 
graceful contour. He was easy and measured in his movements, and 
calm in his air. His brow was full, massive and lofty, his features 
regular and elegant, and his eye full, dark and lustrous. His mouth 
was uncommonly handsome, and his teeth large, regular and very white. 
The prevailing expression of his countenance was mild, benignant and 
cheerful, and a smile of amiability, irresistibly pleasing, played in con- 
versation about his lips. His whole air was expressive of health, fresh- 
ness, comfort and contentment, bearing testimony to a life of temperanee 
?nd moderation." 

Perry died of yellow fever in the Island of Trinidad, in August 
1 8 19. At the proper time a national vessel was despatched to convey 
the remains to Newport, where a granite monument records his acts but 
cannot help to immortalize his fame. 




COMMODORE THOS. M'DONOUGH 

HERO OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN — RARE MAN FOR 
AN EMERGENCY — EXPERT IN NAVAL TAC- 
TICS — REWARDED BY CONGRESS AND THE 
NATION FOR HIS GREAT VICTORY. 



In the Autumn of 1814, the Britisli contem- 



plated an invasion of tlie northern and least populous counties of New 
York, with a large force, following the route laid down for General Bur- 
goyne, in his unfortunate expedition of 1777. It was most probably 
intended to occupy a portion of the northern frontier, with the expecta- 
tion of turning the circumstance to account in the pending negotiations, 
the Bnglish commissioners soon after advancing a claim to drive the 
Americans back from their ancient boundaries, wi*lx a view to leave 
Great Britain the entire possession of the lakes. 

In such an expedition, the command of Champlain became of great 
importance, as it flanked the march of the invading army for more than 
a hundred miles, and offered many facilities for forwarding supplies, as 
well as for annoyance and defence. Until this season, neither nation 
had a force of any moment on the water, but the Americans had built a 
ship and a schooner, during the winter and spring ; and when it was found 
that the enemy was preparing for a serious effort, the keel of a brig was 
laid. Many galleys, or gunboats, were also constructed. 

The American squadron lay in Otter Creek, at the commencement 
of the season ; and near the middle of May, as the vessels then launched 
were about to quit port, the enemy appeared off the mouth of the creek, 
with a force consisting of the Linnet brig, and eight or ten galleys, under 
the orders of Captain Pring, with a view to fill the channel. For this pur- 

168 



COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 



169 



pose two sloops loaded with stones were in company. A small work 
had been thrown up at the mouth of the creek some time previously, by 
Captain Thornton of the artillery, and Lieutenant Cassin was despatched 
with a party of seamen, to aid that officer in defending the pass. After a 
cannonading of some duration, the enemy retired without effecting his 
object, and the vessels got out. In this affair, no one was hurt on the 
side of the Americans, although shells were thrown from one of the 
galleys. 

On the other hand, the English were not idle. In addition to 
the small vessels they had possessed 
the previous year, they had built the 
brig just mentioned, or the Linnet, 
and as soon as the last American ves- 
sel was in frame, they laid the keel of 
the ship. By constructing the latter, 
a great advantage was secured, care 
being taken, as a matter of course, to 
make her of a size sufficient to be 
certain of possessing the greatest 
force. The American brig, which was 
called the Eagle, was launched about 
the middle of August ; and the 
English ship, named the Confiance, 
on the 25th of the same month. COMMODORE m'DONOUGH. 

As the English army was already collecting on the frontier, the 
utmost exertions were made by both sides, and each appeared on the lake 
as he got ready. Captain M'Donough, who still commanded the Ameri- 
can force, was enabled to get out a few days before his adversary ; and 
cruising being almost out of the question on this long and narrow body 
of water, he advanced as far as Plattsburg, the point selected for the 
defence, and anchored, the 3d of September, on the flank of the troops 
which occupied the entrenchments at that place. 

About this time. Sir George Prevost, the English commander-in- 




170 COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 

chief, witli a force that probably amounted to 12,000 men, advanced 
against Plattsburg, then held by Brigadier General Macomb at the head 
of only 1,500 effectives. A good deal of skirmishing ensued; and from 
the 7th to the nth, the enemy was employed in bringing up his batter- 
ing train, stores, and reinforcements. Captain Downie, late of the Mon- 
treal, on Lake Ontario, had been sent by Sir James Yeo, to command on 
this lake, and render all possible aid to the infantry. 

YOUNG OFFICER SEVERELY WOUNDED. 

On the 6th, Captain M'Donough ordered the galleys to the head of 
the bay, to annoy the English army, and a cannonading occurred which 
lasted two hours. The wind coming on to blow a gale that menaced the 
galleys with shipwreck, Mr. Duncan, a midshipman of the Saratoga, was 
sent in a gig to order them to retire. It is supposed that the appearance 
of the boat induced the enemy to think that Captain M'Donough himself 
had joined his galleys ; for he concentrated a fire on the galley Mr. Dun- 
can was in, and that young officer received a severe wound, by which he 
lost the use of his arm. Afterwards one of the galleys drifted in, under 
the guns of the enemy, and she also sustained some loss, but was 
eventually brought off. 

Captain M'Donough had chosen an anchorage a little to the south 
of the outlet of the Saranac. His vessels lay in a line parallel to the 
coast, extending north and south, and distant from the western shore 
near two miles. The last vessel at the southward was so near the shoal, 
as to prevent the English from passing that end of the line, while all 
the ships lay so far out towards Cumberland Head, as to bring the enemy 
within reach of carronades, should he enter the bay on that side. The 
Eagle, Captain Henley, lay at the northern extremity of the American 
line, and what might, during the battle, have been called its head, the 
wind being at the northward and eastward ; the Saratoga, Captain 
M'Donough' s own vessel, was second ; the Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Com- 
mandant Cassin, third ; and the Preble, Lieutenant Charles Budd, last. 
The Preble lay a little farther south than the pitch of Cumberland 



COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 171 

Head. THe first of these vessels just mentioned was a brig of 20 guns, 
and 150 men, all told ; the second a ship of 26 guns, and 212 men ; tHe 
third a schooner of 17 guns and no men; the last a sloop, or cutter, of 
7 guns and 30 men. 

The galleys, on an average, had about 35 men each. The total force of 
the Americans present consisted, consequently, of 14 vessels, mounting 
86 guns, and containing about 850 men, including officers and a small 
detachment of soldiers, who did duty as marines, none of the corps having 
been sent on Lake Champlain. To complete his order of battle. Captain 
M'Donough directed two of the galleys to keep in-shore of the Eagle, and 
a little to windward of her, to sustain the head of the line ; one or two 
more to lie opposite to the interval between the Eagle and Saratoga ; a 
few opposite to the interval between the Saratoga and Ticonderoga ; and 
two or three opposite the interval between the Ticonderoga and Preble. 
The Americans were, consequently, formed in two lines, distant from 
each other about 40 yards ; the large vessels at anchor, and the galleys 
under their sweeps, for the purpose of greater safety. 

SUPERIOR STRENGTH OF THE ENEMY. 

The force of the enemy was materially greater than that of the 
Americans. The whole force of Captain Downie consisted of sixteen or 
seventeen vessels, as the case may have been, mounting in all ninety- 
five or ninety-six guns and carrying about 1000 men. 

On the 3d of September the British gunboats sailed from Isle aux 
Noix under the orders of Captain Pring to cover the left flank of their 
army. On the 4th that officer took possession of Isle an Motte, where he 
constructed a battery and landed some supplies for the troops. On the 
8th the four larger vessels arrived under Captain Downie, but remained 
at anchor until the i ith, waiting to receive some necessaries. At daylight 
on the morning just mentioned, the whole force weighed and moved 
forward in a body. 

The guard-boat of the Americans pulled in shortly after the sun had 
risen and announced the approach of the enemy. As the wind was 



172 COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 

fair, a good working breeze at tlie northward and eastward, Captain 
M'Donougli ordered the vessels cleared and preparations made to fight at 
anchor. Eight bells were striking in the American sqnadron as the 
upper sails of the English vessels were seen passing along the land, in 
the main lake, on their way to double Cumberland Head. The enemy 
had the wind rather on his port quarter. The Finch led, succeeded by 
the Confiance, Linnet and Chubb ; while the gunboats, all of which, as 
well as those of the Americans, had two latine sails, followed without 
much order, keeping just clear of the shore. 

LINE OF BATTLE FORMED. 

The first vessel that came round the Head was a sloop, which is said 
to have carried a company of amateurs, and which took no part in the 
engagement. She kept well to leeward, stood down towards Crab Island 
and was soon unobserved. The Finch came next, and soon after the 
other large vessels of the enemy opened from behind the land and hauled 
up to the wind in a line abreast, lying-to until their galleys could join. 
The latter passed to leeward and formed in the same manner as their 
consorts. The two squadrons were now in plain view of each other, 
distant about a league. As soon as the gunboats were in their stations, 
and the different commanders had received their orders, the English 
filled, with their starboard tacks aboard, and headed in towards the 
American vessels in a line abreast, the Chubb to windward and the Finch 
to leeward, most of the gunboats, however, being to leeward of the latter. 

The movements of the Finch had been a little singular ever since 
she led round the Head, for she is said not to have hove-to, but to have 
run off half way to Crab Island with the wind abeam, then to have tacked 
and got into her station after the other vessels had filled. This move- 
ment was probably intended to reconnoitre or to menace the rear of the 
Americans. The enemy was now standing in, close-hauled, the Chubb 
looking well to windward of the Eagle, the vessel that lay at the head of 
the American line, the Linnet laying her course for the bows of the same 
brig, the Confiance intending to fetch far enough ahead of the Saxatogr 



COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 173 

to lay tliat ship athwart hawse, and the Finch, with the gunboats, 
standing for the Ticonderoga and Preble. 

As a matter of course the Americans were anchored with springs. 
But not content with this customary arrangement. Captain M'Donough 
had laid a kedge (small anchor) broad off on each bow of the Saratoga, 
and brought their hawsers in upon the two quarters, letting them hang 
in loops under water. This timely precaution gained the victory. 

LOUD CHEERS WHEN A ROOSTER CROWED. 

As the enemy filled the American vessels sprung their broadsides to 
bear, and a few minutes were passed in the solemn and silent expectation 
that, in a disciplined ship, precedes a battle. Suddenly the Kagle dis- 
charged, in quick succession, her four long eighteens. In clearing the 
decks of the Saratoga some hen-coops were thrown overboard, and the 
poultry had been permitted to run at large. Startled by the reports of 
the guns a young cock flew upon a gun-slide, clapped his wings and 
crowed. At this animating sound the men spontaneously gave three 
cheers. This little occurrence relieved the usual breathing time between 
preparation and the combat, and it had a powerful influence on the known 
tendencies of the seamen. 

Still Captain M'Donough did not give the order to commence, 
although the enemy's galleys now opened, for it was apparent that the 
fire of the Kagle, which vessel continued to shoot, was useless. As 
soon, however, as it was seen that her shot told, Captain M'Donough him- 
self sighted a long twenty-four and the gun was fired. This shot is said to 
have struck the Confiance near the outer hawse-hole, and to have passed 
the length of her deck, killing and wounding several men and carrying 
away the wheel. It was a signal for all the American long guns to open, 
and it was soon seen that the English commanding ship, in particular, 
was suffering heavily. Still the enemy advanced, and in the most gal- 
lant manner, confident if he could get the desired position that the great 
weight of the Confiance would at once decide the fate of the day. 

But he had miscalculated his own powers of endurance. The 



174 COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 

anchors of tlie Confiance were hanging by the stoppers, in readiness to be 
let go, and the bower was soon cut away, as well as a spare anchor in the 
port fore-chains. In short, after bearing the fire of the American vessels 
as long as possible, and the wind beginning to baffle, Captain Downie 
found himself reduced to the necessity of anchoring while still at the dis- 
tance of about a quarter of a mile from the American line. The helm 
was put a-port, the ship shot into the wind, and a kedge was let go, while 
the vessel took a sheer and brought up with her starboard bower. In 
doing the latter, however, the kedge was fouled and became of no use. 

POSITIONS OF CONTENDING SHIPS. 

In coming to, the halyards were let run and the ship hauled up her 
courses. At this time the Linnet and Chubb were still standing in, 
farther to windward, and the former, as her guns bore, fired a broadside 
at the Saratoga. The Linnet soon after anchored, somewhat nearer than 
the Confiance, getting a very favorable position forward of the Eagle's 
beam. The Chubb kept under way, intending, if possible, to rake the 
American line. The Finch got abreast of the Ticonderoga, under her 
sweeps, supported by the gunboats. 

The English vessels came to in very handsome style, nor did the 
Confiance fire a single gun until secured, although the American line 
was now engaged with all its force. As soon as Captain Downie had per- 
formed this duty, in a seamanlike manner, his ship appeared a sheet of 
fire, discharging all her guns at nearly the same instant, pointed princi- 
pally at the Saratoga. The effect of this broadside was terrible in the 
little ship that received it. After the crash had subsided Captain M'Don- 
ough saw that nearly half his crew was on the deck, for many had been 
knocked down who sustained no real injuries. 

It is supposed, however, that about forty men, or near one-fifth of 
her complement, were killed and wounded on board the Saratoga by this 
single discharge. The hatches had been fastened down, as usual, but 
the bodies so cumbered the deck that it was found necessary to remove 
the fastenings and to pass them below. The effect continued but a 



COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 175 

moment, wlien the ship resumed her fire as gallantly as ever. Among 
the slain was Mr. Peter Gamble, the first lieutenant. By this early loss 
but one officer of that rank, acting Lieutenant Lavellette, was left in the 
Saratoga. Shortly after Captain Downie, the English commanding 
officer, fell also. 

On the part of the principal vessels the battle now became a steady, 
animated, but, as guns were injured, a gradually decreasing cannonade. 
Still, the character of the battle was relieved by several little incidents 
that merit notice. The Chubb, while manoeuvering near the head of the 
American line, received a broadside from the Eagle that crippled her, and 
she drifted down between the opposing vessels until near the Saratoga, 
which ship fired a shot into her and she immediately struck. 

CONSIDERED A FAVORABLE OMEN. 

Mr. Piatt, one of the Saratoga's midshipmen, was sent with a boat to 
take possession. This young officer threw the prize a line and towed her 
down astern of the Saratoga, and in-shore, anchoring her near the mouth 
of the Saranac. This little success occurred within a quarter of an hour 
after the enemy had anchored, and was considered a favorable omen, 
though all well knew that on the Confiance alone depended the fate of 
the day. The Chubb had suffered materially, nearly half of her people 
having been killed and wounded. 

About an hour later, the Finch was also driven out of her berth, by 
the Ticonderoga ; and being crippled, she drifted down upon Crab Island 
Shoal, where, receiving a shot or two from the gun mounted in the bat- 
tery, she struck, and was taken possession of by the invalids belonging 
to the hospital. At this end of the line, the British galleys early made 
several desperate efforts to close ; and soon after the Finch had drifted 
awa}^, they forced the Preble out of the American line, that vessel cut- 
ting her cable and shifting her anchorage to a station considerably in- 
shore, where she was of no more service throughout the day. The rear 
of the American line was certainly its weakest point ; and having com- 
pelled the little Preble to retreat, the enemy's galleys were emboldened 



176 COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 

to renew their efforts against the vessel ahead of her, which was the 
Ticonderoga. This schooner was better able to resist them, and she was 
very nobly fought. 

Her spirited commander, Lieutenant Commandant Cassin, walked 
the taffrail where he could watch the movements of the enemy's galleys, 
amidst showers of canister and grape, directing discharges of bags of 
mnsket-balls, and other light missiles, effectually keeping the British at 
bay. Several times the English galleys, of which many were very gal- 
lantly fought, closed quite near, with an intent to board ; but the great 
steadiness on board the Ticonderoga beat them back, and completely 
covered the rear of the line for the remainder of the day. So desperate 
were some of the assaults, notwithstanding, that the gallej^s have been 
described as several times getting nearly within a boathook's length of 
the schooner, and their people as rising from the sweeps in readiness to 

spring. 

AMERICANS BADLY DAMAGED. 

While these reverses and successes were occurring in the rear of the 
two lines, the Americans were suffering heavily at the other extremity. 
The Linnet had got a very commanding position, and she was admirably 
fought; while the Eagle, which received all her fire, and part of that of the 
Ccnfiance, having lost her springs, found herself so situated, as not to 
be able to bring her guns fairly to bear on either of the enemy's vessels. 
Captain Henley had run his topsail-yards, with the sails stopped, to the 
mast-heads, previously to engaging, and he now cut his cable, sheeted 
home his topsails, cast the brig, and running down, anchored by the stern, 
between the Saratoga and Ticonderoga, necessarily a little in-shore of 
both. Here he opened afresh, and with better effect, on the Confiance 
and galleys, nsing his larboard guns. But this movement left the Sara- 
toga exposed to nearly the whole fire of the Linnet, which brig now 
sprung her broadside in a manner to rake the American ship on her bows. 

Shortly after this important change had occurred at the head of the 
lines, the fire of the two ships began materially to lessen, as gun after 
gun became disabled ; the Saratoga, in particular, having had all her 



COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 177 

long pieces rendered useless by sliot, while most of tlie carronades 
were dismounted, either in the same manner, or in consequence of a dispo- 
sition in the men to overcharge them. At length but a single carronade 
remained in the starboard batteries, and on firing it, the navel bolt broke, 
the gun flew off the carriage, and it actually fell down the main hatch. 
By this accident, the American commanding vessel was left in the middle 
of the battle, without a single available gun. Nothing remained but to 
make an immediate attempt to wind the ship. 

MANEUVERING FOR ADVANTAGES. 

The stream anchor suspended astern, was let go accordingly. The 
men then clapped on the hawser that led to the starboard quarter, and 
brought the ship's stern up over the kedge ; but here she hung, there 
not being suf&cient wind, or current, to force her bows round. A line 
had been bent to a bight in the stream cable, with a view to help wind 
the ship, and she now rode by the kedge and this line, with her stern 
under the raking broadside of the Linnet, which brig kept up a steady 
and well-directed fire. The port batteries having been manned and got 
ready, Captain M'Donough ordered all the men from the guns, where 
they were uselessly suffering, telling them to go forward. 

By rowsing on the line, the ship was at length got so far round 
that the aftermost gun would bear on the Confiance, when it was instantly 
manned, and began to play. The next gun was used in the same man- 
ner, but it was soon apparent that the ship could be got no farther round, 
for she was now nearly end-on to the wind. At this critical moment, 
Mr. Brum, the master, bethought him of the hawser that led to the lar- 
board quarter. It was got forward under the bows, and passed aft to the 
starboard quarter, when the ship's stern was immediately sprung to the 
westward, so as to bring all her port guns to bear on the English ship, 
with fatal effect. 

As soon as the preparations were made to wind the Saratoga, the 

Confiance attempted to perform the same evolution. Her springs were 

hauled on, but they merely forced the ship ahead, and having borne the 
12 A P H 



178 COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 

fresh broadside of tlie Americans, until she had scarcely a gun with 
which to return the fire, and failing iu all her efforts to get round, about 
two hours and a quarter after the commencement of the action, her com- 
manding officer lowered his flag. By hauling again upon the starboard 
hawser, the Saratoga's broadside was immediately sprung to bear on the 
Linnet, which brig struck about fifteen minutes after her consort. 

The enemy's galleys had been driven back, nearly or quite half a 
mile, and they lay irregularly scattered, and setting to leeward, keeping 
up a desultory firing. As soon as they found that the large vessels had 
submitted, they ceased the combat, and lowered their colors. At this 
proud moment, it is believed, on authority entitled to the highest respect, 
there was not a single Bnglish ensign, out of sixteen or seventeen, that 
had so lately been flying, left abroad in the bay ! 

LAMENTABLE DESTRUCTION OF LIFE. 

In this long and bloody conflict, the Saratoga had twenty-eight men 
killed, and twenty-nine wounded, or more than a fourth of all on board 
her; the Bagle thirteen killed, and twenty wounded, which was sustain- 
ing a loss in nearly an equal proportion ; the Ticonderoga six killed, and 
six wounded ; the Preble two killed ; while on board the ten galleys, only 
three were killed, and three wounded. The Saratoga was hulled fifty- 
five times, principally by twenty-four-pound shot ; and the Hagle, thirty- 
nine times. 

According to the report of Captain Pring, of the Linnet, dated on 
the 1 2th of September, the Confiance lost forty-one killed, and forty 
wounded. It was admitted, however, that no good opportunity had then 
existed to ascertain the casualties. At a later day, the English them- 
selves enumerated her wounded at eighty-three. This would make the 
total loss of that ship 124 ; but even this number is supposed to be 
materially short of the truth. The Linnet is reported to have had ten 
killed, and fourteen wounded. This loss is also believed to be consider- 
ably below the fact. The Chubb liad six killed, and ten wounded. The 
Finch was reported by the enemy to have had but two men wounded. 



COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 179 

No American official report of tHe casualties in the Englisli vessels 
has been published ; but by an estimate made on the best data that could 
be found, the Linnet was thought to have lost fifty men, and the two 
smaller vessels taken, about thirty between them. No account what- 
ever has been published of the casualties on board the English galleys, 
though the slaughter in them is believed to have been very heavy. 




SCENE OF THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 

As soon as the Linnet struck, a lieutenant was sent to take posses- 
sion of the Confiance. Bad as was the situation of the Saratoga, that of 
the prize was much worse. She had been hulled 105 times ; had prob- 
ably near, if not quite, half her people killed and wounded ; and this 
formidable floating battery was reduced to helpless impotency. 

As the boarding officer was passing along the deck of the prize, he 



180 COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 

accidentally ran against a lock-string, and fired one of tlie Confiance's 
starboard gnns. Up to this moment the English galleys had been slowly 
drifting to leeward, with their colors down, apparently waiting to be taken 
possession of; but at the discharge of this gun, which may have been 
understood as a signal, one or two of them began to move slowly off, and 
soon after the others followed, pulling but a very few sweeps. It is not 
known that one of them hoisted her ensign. Captain M'Donough made 
a signal for the American galleys to follow, but it was discovered that 
their men were wanted at the pumps of some of the larger vessels, to 
keep them from sinking, the water being found over the berth-deck of 
the Linnet, and the signal was revoked. As there was not a mast that 
would bear any canvas among all the larger vessels, the English galleys 
escaped, though they went off slowly and irregularly, as if distrusting 
their own liberty. 

GALLANT CONDUCT OF AMERICAN OFFICERS. 

Captain M'Donough applauded the conduct of all the of&cers of the 
Saratoga. Mr. Gamble died at his post, fighting bravely ; Mr. Lavallette, 
the only lieutenant left, displayed the cool discretion that marks the 
character of this highly respectable and firm officer, and Mr. Brum, the 
master, who was entrusted with the important duty of winding the ship, 
never lost his self-possession for an instant. Captain Henley praised 
the conduct of his officers, as did Lieutenant-Commandant Cassin. The 
gallej^s behaved very unequally ; but the Borer, Mr. Conover ; Netley, 
Mr. Breese ; one under the orders of Mr. Robins, a master, and one or 
two more, were considered to have been very gallantly handled. 

There was a common feeling of admiration at the manner in which 
the Ticonderoga, Lieutenant-Commandant Cassin, defended the rear of 
the line, and at the noble conduct of all on board her. 

The Saratoga was twice on fire by hot shot thrown from the Con- 
fiance, her spanker having been nearly consumed. No battery from the 
American shore, with the exception of the gun or two fired at the Finch 
from Crab Island, took any part in the naval encounter ; nor could any, 



COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 181 

without endangering the American vessels equally with the enemy. 
Indeed the distance renders it questionable whether shot would have 
reached with effect, as Captain M'Donough had anchored far off the land, 
in order to compel the enemy to come within range of his short guns. 

The Americans found a furnace on board the Confiance, with eight 
or ten heated shot in it, though the fact is not stated with any view to 
attribute it to the enemy as a fault. It was an advantage that he pos- 
sessed, most probably in consequence of the presence of a party of 
artillerists, who had a share in the hot fight. 

COMMANDER'S SPLENDID SKILL AND BRAVERY. 

Captain M'Donough, who was already very favorably known to the 
service for his personal intrepidity, obtained a vast accession of reputa- 
tion by the results of this day. His dispositions for receiving the attacks 
were highly judicious and seamanlike. By the manner in which he 
anchored his vessels, with the shoal so near the rear of his line as to cover 
that extremity, and the land of Cumberland Head so near his broadside 
as necessarily to bring the enemy within reach of his short guns, he made 
all his force completely available. The English were not near enough, 
perhaps, to give to carronades their full effect ; but this disadvantage was 
unavoidable, the assailing party having, of course, a choice in the distance. 

All that could be obtained, under the circumstances, appears to have 
been secured, and the result proved the wisdom of the actual arrange- 
ment. The personal deportment of Captain M'Donough in this engage- 
ment, like that of Perry in the battle of Lake Erie, was the subject of 
general admiration in his little squadron. His coolness was undisturbed 
throughout all the trying scenes on board his own ship, and although lying 
against a vessel of double the force, and nearly double the tonnage of the 
Saratoga, he met and resisted her attack with a constancy that seemed to 
set defeat at defiance. The winding of the Saratoga, under such circum- 
stances, exposed as she was to the raking broadsides of the Confiance and 
Linnet, especially the latter, was a bold, seamanlike, and masterly measure, 
that required unusual decision and fortitude to imagine and execute. 



182 COMMODORE THOMAS M'DONOUGH. 

Most men would liave believed that, witliout a single gun on tlie side 
engaged, a fourtli of tlieir people cut down, and their ship a wreck, 
enough injury had been received to justify submission; but Captain 
M'Donough found the means to secure a victory in the desperate con- 
dition of his own vessel. 

Captain M'Donough, besides the usual medal from Congress, and 
various compliments and gifts from different states and towns, was pro- 
moted for his services. Captain Henley also received a medal. The 
'".eo'islature of Vermont presented the former with a small estate on Cum- 
berland Head, which overlooked the scene of his triumph. The officers 
and crews met with the customary acknowledgements, and the country 
generally placed the victory by the side of that of Lake Erie. In the 
navy, which is better qualified to enter into just estimates of force, and 
all the other circumstances that enhance the merits of nautical exploits, 
the battle of Plattsburg Bay is justly ranked among the very highest of 
its claims to glory. 

The consequences of this victory were immediate and important. 
During the action, Sir George Prevost had skirmished sharply in front 
of the American works, and was busy in making demonstrations for a 
more serious attack. As soon, however, as the fate of the British squad- 
ron was ascertained, he made a precipitate and unmilitary retreat, aban- 
doning much of his heavy artillery, stores, and supplies, and from that 
moment to the end of the war, the northern frontier was cleared of the 

enemy. 

The gallant sailor who won the battle of Lake Champlain lives in 
history as Commodore M'Donough. He died in 1825. 




REAR ADMIRAL BUCHANAN 



LIEUTENANT WORDEN 



HEROES OF THE MERRIMAC AND MONITOR 
—FAMOUS NAVAL BATTLE — THE DAVID 
iO AND GOLIATH OF WARSHIPS — COOL BRAVERY OF COM- 
MANDERS — FIGHT THAT REVOLUTIONIZED NAVAL WARFARE. 

In tracing tlie history of the great western campaign of our Civil 
War, in 1862, it will be noticed that an important part was played by 
gunboats on the Tennessee and Ohio rivers. It was naturally to be 
expected that war vessels, suitably constructed, would play an equally 
important part in the bays and rivers more to the east, and which 
connect themselves with the waters of the Atlantic. 

One of the great events of the early part of 1862 was the appear- 
ance in Hampton Roads of the powerful iron-clad man-of-war Merrimac, 
which had been reconstructed by the Confederate Government and named 
Virginia. When the Norfolk Navy Yard was abandoned by the 
Nationals, this vessel was scuttled and sunk. In her original form she 
was a powerful steam frigate of forty guns, and she had cost the govern, 
ment, for building and furnishing her, a sum not less than a million 
and a quarter dollars. The Confederates found little difficulty in raising 
her, and the hull being in perfect condition, a substantial basis existed 
for the construction of a gigantic and dangerous vessel. 

A plan was furnished by Lieutenant John M. Brooke, formerly of 
the National navy ; and, reconstructed after the fashion of the shot-proof 
raft which had been used in Charleston harbor, she became one of the 
strongest and most destructive engines of war which had ever been seen 

183 



184 BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 

floating on any waters. When properly cut down she was covered with 
an iron roof projecting into the water. At or below the water line the 
mail extended the opposite way, so that a shot striking above the water- 
mark would glance upward, and below the water mark would glance 
downward. She was simply a broadside ironclad with sloping armor. 
Her great bulk enabled her to carry a formidable battery. She was 
armed with a powerful steel beak, and carried eleven guns, with a one 
hundred-pound rifled Armstrong at each end. 

A MONSTER FITTED TO CREATE TERROR. 

Such a monster might well be a terror as a surprise. It was known 
that the vessel was undergoing reconstruction, and- that it was intended to 
make her a terrible engine of war ; but strange rumors were circulated 
to her disadvantage by the Confederate authorities ; and it is probable 
that, until she was seen at Hampton Roads, she was somewhat despised 
by the of&cers of the National navy. The Southern newspapers artfully 
circulated that " the Merrimac was a failure," and, the wish being father 
to the thought, the statement was too readily believed by the Federals. 
Her commander was Franklin Buchanan, who was born in Baltimore, 
and entered the navy about 1815. He was captain when the Civil War 
broke out, but resigned his commission in 1861, entered the Confederate 
service, and was noted for his bravery and his ability in handling war 
craft. He commanded the iron-clad Tennessee in Mobile Bay, August, 
1864, where he was defeated by Admiral Farragut and taken prisoner. 

The intrepid Buchanan, as we have said was the commander of the 
Merrimac, and his exploits on this occasion stamped him as a hero of 
the highest rank. About noon, on Saturday, the 8th of March, observ- 
ers at Fortress Monroe saw a strange object, "looking like a sub- 
merged house, with the roof only above water," moving down the 
Elizabeth River toward Hampton Roads. It was the dreadful Merrimac. 
Two smaller armed steamboats accompanied her. Almost immediately 
after their appearance, two other Confederate gunboats came down from 
Richmond and took positions in the James River, a little above Newport 



BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 185 

News. Signal guns were at once fired from tlie Union batteries and by 
the ships Cumberland and Congress, lying off and blockading the James 
River, to give warning to the rest of the National fleet. 

Accompanied by the two smaller vessels the Merrimacmoved steadily 
on towards the Cumberland and Congress. The Congress, a sailing 
frigate, was commanded by Lieutenant Joseph B. Smith. The sloop of 
war, Cumberland, 24 guns and 376 men, was commanded temporarily by 
Lieutenant George Morris. Pursuing the Congress, and giving and 
receiving a broadside, the Merrimac made straight for the Cumberland. 
This vessel had been placed across the channel so as to bring her broad- 
side to bear on her antagonist ; and as the Merrimac approached she 
opened upon the monster and poured forth a rapid fire. It was no use. The 
heavy shot from the nine and ten inch guns of the Cumberland glanced 
from her rival's shield of iron, "like so many peas. " The Merrimac 
seemed stunned for an instant by the weight of the shot ; but she quickly 
recovered ; and having increased her speed, she rushed against the 
Cumberland, striking her with her steel prow about amidships, and 
" literally laying her open. " 

AN IMPENETRABLE COAT OF MAIL. 

Before striking the Cumberland, the Merrimac had received some 
seven or eight broadsides ; but they produced no impression on her 
invulnerable coat of mail. As she struck, she opened her ports and 
poured in on the unfortunate Cumberland, now rapidly filling with water, 
a most destructive fire. The Cumberland fought well ; but the combat 
was unequal. Buchanan gradually drew off the Merrimac ; and again 
opening his ports, he rushed against his disabled antagonist, this time 
completely crushing in her side. 

It was now all over with the Cumberland. Giving a parting fire to 
the monster which was retiring from the ruin it had wrought, with 
apparent indifference, Morris ordered his men to jump overboard and save 
themselves. This was quickly done ; and in a few minutes afterwards, 
the vessel went down in fifty-four feet of water, carrying with her about 




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BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 187 

one hundred of dead, sick and wounded, who could not be moved. The 
topmast of the Cumberland remained partially above the water, with her 
flag flying from its peak. 

It was now nearly four o'clock in the afternoon. Having finished 
the Cumberland, the Merrimac now turned her attention to the sailing 
frigate Congress. We have seen that just as the Merrimac appeared by 
the way of the Elizabeth River two other vessels came down the James, 
as if by a preconcerted arrangement. These vessels were the Yorktown 
and the Jamestown, or, as the latter was now called, the Patrick Henry. 
While the Merrimac was engaged with the Cumberland, the Yorktown 
and the Jamestown, which had successfully passed the National batteries 
at Newport News, had tackled the Congress. Until the Cumberland 
went down the Congress made a gallant and successful resistance. With 
the help of the Zouave, she then managed to run aground undercover of 
the strong batteries just named. 

ON FIRE IN A NUMBER OF PLACES. 

There she was beyond reach of the Merrimac' s prow, but she was not 
beyond the range of her guns. As soon, therefore, as that vessel came 
up she opened fire upon the unfortunate Congress, which could not reply 
with her stern guns, one of which was soon dismounted by the Merrimac's 
shot and the other had the muzzle knocked off. Lieutenant Smith, Act- 
ing Master Moore and Pilot William Rhodes, with nearly half the crew, 
were killed or wounded. The Merrimac moved backward and forward 
slowly, firing at a range of less than a hundred yards. The Congress 
now took fire in several places. 

Further resistance would have been worse than foolishness, and so 
Lieutenant Prendergast hauled down the flag. A tug came alongside to 
haul her off, but the batteries on shore drove off the tug, and the Merri- 
mac, despite the white flag which was flying over her in token of sur- 
render, again opened fire upon the battered and helpless vessel. Later 
in the day the Merrimac returned and set the Congress on fire by red- 
hot shot, and her magazine exploded with a tremendous noise. 



188 BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 

THose of her crew whicli survived the first attack had meanwhile 
made good their escape. About one half of the whole, 218 out of 434, 
responded to the call of their names next morning at Newport News. 
In little more than two hours the Merrimac had destroyed two of the 
best ships in the National service ; and Buchanan, her commander, had 
the satisfaction — if satisfaction it was — of killing or drowning more than 
three hundred of his old comrades. 

HURRIED TO THE SCENE OF ACTION. 

When the Merrimac first made her appearance in the early part of 
the day, the flag-ship of the National squadron, the Roanoke, Captain 
John Marston, and the steam frigate Minnesota, Captain Van Brunt, 
were lying at Fortress Monroe, several miles distant. These were at 
once signalled to hurry forward to the assistance of the Cumberland, the 
Congress, and the other vessels now so sorely menaced. It was not pos- 
sible for them to be forward in time to render any effective aid. Flag- 
officer Marston had responded to the signal as quickly as possible. His 
own ship was disabled in its machinery ; but, with the help of two tugs, 
he set out for the scene of action. 

The Minnesota was ordered to hasten in the same direction. When 
passing Sewall's Point, the Minnesota came within range of a Confeder- 
ate battery there, and had her mainmast crippled. This, however, was 
not the only misfortune which she was destined to experience ; she drew 
twenty-three feet of water ; and although it was known that the water 
was dangerously shallow, it was thought that, the botton being soft, it 
would be possible to push her through. It was a mistake. When with- 
in about a mile and a half of Newport News, the vessel grounded and 
stuck fast. 

While in this helpless condition, the Merrimac, having destroyed 
the Cumberland, and having retired after her first attack on the Con- 
gress, came down upon her. Fortunately it was not possible for the 
Merrimac to get within a mile of her intended victim, her own heavy 
draught preventing a nearer approach. At this distance, an ineffective 



BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 189 

fire was opened by botli vessels. Some of the smaller armed steamboats 
ventured nearer, and witb tlieir rifled guns killed and wounded several 
men on board the Minnesota. Some of tliese, however, paid dearly for 
tlieir rashness ; for, grounded as she was, her guns were ably handled, 
and with great rapidity. 

It was now seven o'clock ; and counting, no doubt, on an easy victory 
on the morrow, the Merrimac, with her companion ships, retired behind 
Sewall's Point, The Minnesota still lay fast in the mud ; and although 
during the night several attempts were made to get her off, it was found 
impossible to move her. The Roanoke and the St. Lawrence, on their 
Vv^ay to the scene of conflict, had both got aground ; but with the rising 
tide they were relieved, and moved down the Roads. 

CRISIS OF IMMENSE IMPORT. 

It was Saturday night, March 8th, and when the sun went down the 
prospect for the following morning was the reverse of cheering to the 
National commanders. There could be no doubt that the Merrimac 
would renew the battle in the morning. In such a case, the result, 
unless some unexpected aid arrived, would be disastrous in the 
extreme. The Minnesota would be the first victim, and helpless as she 
was, her destruction was certain. If any of the other vessels were 
spared they would surely endeavor to make their escape. The harbor of 
Hampton Roads would be lost. The Merrimac would be free to prose- 
cute her work of destruction. Fortress Monroe would be in danger, and 
who could say that the harbor of New York was safe while such a 
monster was afloat ? 

General Wool, commander of Fortress Monroe, telegraphed to 
Washington that the capture of the Minnesota was all but certain, and 
that " it was thought the Merrimac, Jamestown and Yorktown would 
pass the fort to-night." It was the opinion of that officer that if the 
Merrimac, instead of passing on, attacked the fortress, it would not be 
possible to hold the place for more than a few days. 

Happily relief was at hand. At nine o'clock that night the 



190 BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 

Monitor, Ericsson's new iron-clad turret ship, arrived at Fortress Monroe 
from New York. This vessel, whicli was a dwarf beside the Merrimac, 
and which was of novel form and appearance, had been built at Green 
Point, Long Island, New York, under the direction of its inventor. 
Captain John Ericsson — a Swede by birth, but who had been a resident 
of the United States for twenty years. Ericsson had already won dis- 
tinction as a practical scientist in Sweden and in England, and in 1842, 
having come to the United States, he built for the government the United 
States steamer Princeton, the first screw-propeller in the world. The 
Monitor was one of three vessels — the other two were the Galena and 
the New Ironsides — which were constructed to meet the emergency and 
by special requirement of the government. 

SINGULAR LOOKING VESSEL. 

Ericsson's plan was to secure the greatest possible power, both for 
attack and resistance, with the least possible exposure of surface. The 
hull of the Monitor admirably met all those' requirements. It was buoyant, 
yet it was almost entirely under water. It presented to the enemy a 
target which was wonderfully small, but which, because of the concen- 
tration of iron and timber, was absolutely impregnable — proof against 
the heaviest artillery of the day. Concentration was Ericsson's object 
in the construction of the hull, so far as defence or resistance was 
concerned. He followed the same plan in regard to the offensive part of 
the ship. 

In the centre of his raft-like vessel he fixed a revolving cylinder of 
wrought iron, of sufficient diameter to allow of two heavy guns and just 
high enough to give the gunners standing room. When finished the 
total length of the Monitor was 172 feet. This covered the armor and 
what is called the "overhang." The length of the hull proper was 124 
feet. Her total beam over armor and backing was 41 }i feet — the beam 
of the hull proper being 34 feet. Her depth was 11 feet; her draught 10 
feet. The diameter of the turret inside was 20 feet ; the height was 9 
feet; the thickness 8 inches, there being 5 inches of wrought iron and 3 



BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 191 

feet of oak. The total weight, witH everytliing on board, was 900 
tons. 

As an engine of war, tlie Monitor was, in the strictest sense of the 
word, a novelty. Nothing of the kind had ever before existed. Not un- 
naturally, therefore, very different opinions prevailed as to the fitness of 
the vessel for the purposes contemplated. Had the Monitor gone to the 
bottom as she slid from the stocks at Greenpoint, she would only have 
fulfilled the predictions and justified the expectations of many promi- 
nent scientific men who were present when she was launched. The 
strange-looking little ship, as we shall presently see, was to have a dif- 
ferent and more glorious future. 

According to the terms of the contract the Monitor was not to be 
accepted by the government until her seagoing powers were tested, and 
until she had made trial of her strength with the heaviest guns of the 
enemy. This, therefore, was her trial trip ; and never, perhaps, in the 
history of any ship of war was a trial trip more severely tested or more 
completely successful. Lieutenant John L. Worden was in command. 

COMMANDER OF THE MONITOR. 

Worden was born in Westchester county, New York, March 12, 1818. 
He entered the navy in 1834, and became a lieutenant in 1840. In April, 
1 86 1, he was sent as a bearer of despatches to Fort Pickens or Pensacola. 
He was arrested as he was returning by land, and was kept in prison 
seven months. After leaving command of the Monitor, he was made 
captain in February, 1863, and commanded the ironclad Montauk in the 
operations against Fort Sumter in April of that year. In June, 1868, 
he was appointed a commodore. His superb courage, admirable skill as 
a commander, and noble qualities as a man, are fully recognized in our 
naval history. 

Having assumed command of the Monitor, he started with the odd 
little craft from New York. The weather was extremely rough. For 
three days the Monitor battled with the storm ; but more than once 
victory was doubtful. The sea rolled over her decks, the turret alone 



192 BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 

being above the water. At oue time the tiller-rope was thrown ofif the 
wheel, and the situation was reall}^ critical. The draft pipe was choked 
by the pouring down of the water ; and but for the ventilation obtained 
through the turret, the men would have been suffocated. More than 
once during the vogage the fires were extinguished. After such a voyage 
the crew, as was to be expected, were completely exhausted. 

We have seen that the Monitor reached Fortress Monroe at 9 
o'clock, on the evening of Saturday, the 8th of March. But for this 
storm the Monitor might have been up in time to prevent the disaster 
of the previous day ; for it is now known that the Confederates, informed 
by spies of the forwardness of the Monitor, had made almost super- 
human efforts to have the work on the Merrimac finished, so as to give 
her an opportunity of destro3ang the National fleet at Hampton Roads 
before her great rival could appear on the scene. 

ON THE EVE OF THE GREAT COMBAT. 

As it was. Lieutenant Worden lost no time after his arrival at 
Fortress Monroe. Within a few minutes he had reported to the flag 
officer in the Roads, received orders and sailed to join the disabled fleet. 
Soon after midnight, on the morning of the 9th, he anchored his little 
vessel alongside the Minnesota. 

Never did relief arrive more opportunely. It was a night to be re- 
membered — that of the 8tli of March, 1862, at Hampton Roads. The 
Confederates were flushed with success. The Nationals were downcast, 
as well they might be, but by no means desperate. Norfolk was illumi- 
nated; and the Confederate officers and sailors were rejoicing and carous- 
ing with her grateful citizens. On the one side, there was the certain 
conviction that to-morrow would bring with it an eas}^ victory. On the 
other side there was a sullen determination to resist to the last, and a 
dim, ill-defined hope that some effective aid was to be expected from the 
strange little vessel which had just arrived. 

As the night wore on, the waters and the adjacent coast were 
brilliantly lit up by the flames of the burning Congress ; and ever and 



BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 193 

anon, at irregular intervals, a shotted gun would boom over the dull 
waters and startle the quiet air, as the spreading flames ignited its 
charge. The ship had been burning for ten hours, when, about one 
o'clock, the fire having reached the magazine, she blew up with a terrific 
noise, filling the air and strewing the waters far and wide with masses 
of burning timber. 

Sunday morning broke beautiful and clear. The Congress had dis- 
appeared ; but the masts and yards of the Cumberland projected above 
the water, and her ensign was flying in its accustomed place. As sad 
evidences of the suddenness of her destruction, the dead bodies of her 
brave defenders floated in large numbers around the ship. Before the 
sun had fully revealed himself, and paled by his brighter light the lurid 
flames of the burning fragments of the Congress, the Merrimac was seen 
coming down from Sewall's Point. Evidently she was bent on complet- 
ing the work of the previous day. The drums of the Merrimac beat tc 
quarters and there were quick preparations. 

GAVE ORDERS FOR INSTANT ATTACK. 

Worden was ready. Taking his position at the peep-hole of the 
pilot-house of the Monitor, he gave orders for an immediate attack. The 
Merrimac made direct for the Minnesota, and from the course she took 
it was apparently the intention of her commander to capture that vessel, 
if possible, and carry her back as a prize to Norfolk, where hundreds of 
people lined the shores, awaiting his triumphant return. As she 
approached the stern guns of the Minnesota opened upon her, but to little 
purpose, for the stacks and the sloping sides of the huge monster had 
been smeared with tallow, and the shot, heavy as it was, glanced harm- 
lessly off. Meanwhile the little Monitor, to the astonishment of all, ran 
out fiom under the Minnesota's quarter and placed herself alongside of 
the Merrimac, completely covering the Minnesota " as far as was possi- 
ble with her diminutive dimensions." 

The contrast was striking. It was more — it was almost ridiculous. 

David and Goliath ! It seemed as if the Merrimac had but to move upon 
13 A PH 



194 BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 

the insignificant, almost invisible thing, toucli it with her iron prow, and 
make an end of it forever. But it was not so. This other giant had 
found more than a match in this other stripling. The Merrimac let fly a 
broadside, and the turret of the Monitor began to revolve. Both vessels^ 
as we have shown already, were heavily armed. The Merrimac had on 
each side two 7^-inch rifles and 4 9-inch Dahlgrens. The Monitor had 
in her turret two ii-inch guns, each capable of flinging a shot of 168 
pounds. The turret kept revolving , but the ponderous shot of the Mon- 
itor rattled in vain against the mail-clad sides of the Merrimac. Broad- 
side followed broadside in rapid succession, but the heavy metal dis- 
charged by the guns of the Merrimac made no impression on the wrought- 
iron citadel of the Monitor, which stood like a Gibraltar. 

BATTLE ROYAL BETWEEN GIANTS. 

Unlike as were the two ships, it was really a battle of giants. " Gun 
after gun," says Captain Van Brunt, of the Minnesota, "was fired by 
the Monitor, which was returned with whole broadsides from the enemy, 
with no more effect apparently than so many pebble stones thrown by a 
child, clearly establishing the fact that wooden vessels cannot contend 
with iron clad ones , for never before was anything like it dreamed of by 
the greatest enthusiasts in maritime warfare." After the first vigorous 
onset there was some manoeuvring for positions, the Monitor seeking the 
port holes of the Merrimac, the latter all the while pouring her heavy 
shot on the invulnerable turret of her plucky little antagonist. One bolt 
from a rifle-gun struck the turret squarely, and penetrated the iron. " It 
then broke short off and left its head sticking in." 

Five times the Merrimac attempted to run the Monitor down, but on 
each occasion she received, at the distance of a few feet, the heavy shot 
of the ii-inch guns. In one of these encounters the Merrimac got 
aground, and the Monitor, being light of draught, steamed easily around, 
moving and hitting like a skilled pugilist, her lightning-like fire striking 
her antagonist at every vulnerable point. The Merrimac began to show 
signs of punishment. Her armor plate was bending under the blows. 



BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 195 

As if despairing of accomplisliing anything definite or satisfactory 

witli the Monitor, the Merrimac turned away from her agile and rather 

dangerous antagonist and renewed her attack on the Minnesota. Van 

Brunt, as he himself tells us, was on his guard, and gave the monster a 

warm reception. He opened upon her all his broadside guns, with a 

ten-inch pivot gun besides. So terrific was the broadside that " it was 

enough," to quote Van Brunt's language, " to blow out of the water any 

timber built ship in the world." It produced, however, but very little 

effect. 

MONITOR CHASES HER ANTAGONIST. 

The Merrimac gave a hearty response. From her rifled bow gun 
she flung one of her terrible shells, which went crashing through the 
side of the Minnesota, exploding on its way two charges of powder, and 
finally bursting in the boatswain's apartments, tearing four rooms into 
one and setting the ship on fire. Another shell burst the boiler of the 
tugboat Dragon, which lay alongside the Minnesota. During the 
encounter, which was brief, the guns of the Minnesota had hit the Mer- 
rimac at least fifty times, producing little or no impression. 

A second time the Monitor comes to the aid of the Minnesota. The 
Merrimac finds it necessary to change her position, and in doing so, 
again gets grounded. The Minnesota again finds her opportunity, and 
her heavy guns are opened on her stranded foe. The broadsides are 
now telling on the thick armor-plates of the Merrimac. Catesby Jones, 
who was in command, Buchanan having been wounded on the previous 
day, evidently regarded his situation as critical, and, accordingly, as 
soon as he got the Merrimac afloat, he turned her prow toward Norfolk. 
The Monitor gave chase. Irritated by the pertinacity of the little ship, 
the Merrimac turned round on her pursuer and rushed upon her at full 
speed, as if resolved to run her down. It was a vain attempt, although, 
judging from the appearance of things, it was by no means either 
unnatural or unwise 

The huge beak of the Merrimac grated on the deck of the Monitor 
and was wrenched. Such a blow had sent the Cumberland down on 



196 BUCHANAN AND wbRDEN. 

tlie Saturday. Sucli a blow, liad it been possible to deal it, would doubt- 
less bave proved equally fatal to tbe Minnesota, or indeed to any wooden 
sbip afloat. It left tbe Monitor uninjured. Tbe little vessel glided 
nimbly out from under ber antagonist, and in doing so, tbe two sbips 
being almost in actual contact, sbe opened upon ber witb one of ber 
beavy turret guns, striking ber witb a force wbicb seemed to crusb in 
ber armor. Quick as ligbtning tbe concentrated sbot of tbe Merrimac 
rattled against tbe turret and pilot-bouse of tbe Monitor. Tbe encounter 
was terrific ; but tbe armor of botb vessels was sbot-proof, and for tbe 
first time in naval warfare, beavy and well-directed cannon were found to 
be comparatively wortbless, doing little damage. 

SHOTS THAT TOLD WITH STARTLING EFFECT. 

At tbis stage tbe Monitor bauled off for tbe purpose of boisting 
more sbot into ber turret. Catesby Jones, imagining tbat be bad 
silenced bis small but formidable antagonist, made anotber move towards 
tbe Minnesota. Before be bad time to open fire, tbe Monitor was steaming 
up towards bim. He cbanged bis course at once; and it was now notice- 
able tbat tbe Merrimac was sagging at ber stern, A well-directed sbot 
from tbe Monitor bad bit tbe Merrimac at tbe junction of tbe casemate 
witb tbe sbip's side and caused a leak. Anotber sbot about tbe same 
moment bad penetrated tbe boiler of one of tbe Merrimac's tenders, 
enveloping ber in steam, and scalding a large number of ber crew. 
Latterly tbe Monitor bad been firing low, and every sbot told witb 
greater or less effect 

Tbe Monitor, bowever, was not to be allowed to escape uninjured. 
Tbe last sbot fired by tbe Merrimac was tbe most effective. It struck 
tbe pilot-bouse of tbe Monitor opposite tbe peep-bole tbrougb wbicb 
Worden at tbat moment was looking. It cut tbe iron plank in two, 
inflicted a severe wound on Worden, and knocked bim senseless to tbe 
floor, Lieutenant Green, wbo commanded tbe guns, and Cbief Bngineer 
Steiners, wbo worked tbe turret, being at tbe same moment stunned and 
stupefied, but not severely injured. Green and Steiners recovered 



BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 197 

quickly enougli to keep the gunners at work ; but Worden did not for 
some time recover consciousness. When he did so, his first question 
was, " Did we save the Minnesota? " 

The battle was now ended. The Merrimac steered at once for 
Norfolk. The Monitor soon afterwards steered for Fortress Monroe, the 
severe mishap which had befallen her commander preventing her from 
following up her victory and forcing the battle to a surrender. Worden 
was really badly injured. His face was much disfigured and he was 
completely blind. Removed to the city of Washington, his life for a 
time was despaired of; but he revived, and, being unwilling to retire, he 
rendered his country further good service before the war was ended. As 
soon as the Merrimac retired the Minnesota was got afloat b}^ throwing 
some of her heavy guns overboard. She was saved. The battle which 
began as early as eight o'clock in the morning was waged with great 
ferocity until after mid-day. The little Monitor did noble work and won 
a most decided victory over a very formidable foe. 

THE LITTLE LION OF THE NAVY. 

She acquired a reputation such as was never before enjoyed by any 
ship of war. Pilgrimages were organized and undertaken to visit the 
scene of the conflict and the victory, and all ranks and classes of the 
people, from the President downward, rushed to see the "little wonder" 
— the strange vessel which had done such effective work. The excite- 
ment was not confined to this country alone. The success of the 
Monitor created a profound interest throughout the civilized world, and 
nowhere more than in the British Isle. It was felt and confessed not 
only that sea-girt nations must in future depend for protection on other 
than wooden walls, but that a new and terrible engine of war had been 
constructed. The battle of Hampton Roads had read the world a 
lesson. 

In a masterly lyric, the scenes on board the Cumberland have been 
celebrated by the well-known poet, George H. Boker. We append his 
spirited production, which is a fine tribute to the valor of our Jack Tars. 



198 



BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 



" Stand to your guns, men ! " Morris 
cried ; 

Small need to pass the word; 
Our men at quarters ranged themselves 

Before the drum was heard. 

And then began the sailors' jests : 
"What thing is that, I say ?" 

"A 'long-shore meeting-house adrift 
And standing down the bay ?" 

"So shot your guns and point them 
straight : 

Before this day goes by, 
We'll try of what her metal's made." 

A cheer was our reply. 

"Remember, boys, this flag of ours 

Has seldom left its place ; 
And where it falls, the deck it strikes 

Is covered with disgrace. 

"I ask but this ; or sink or swim, 

Or live or nobly die, 
My last sight upon earth may be 

To see that ensign fly ! " 

Meanwhile the shapeless iron mass 
Came moving o'er the wave. 

As gloomy as a passing hearse, 
As silent as the grave. 

Her ports were closed ; from stem to 
stern 
No sign of life appeared : 
We wondered, questioned, strained our 
eyes, 
Joked — everything, but feared. 

She reached our range. Our broadside 
rang; 

Our heavy pivots roared ; 
And shot and shell, a fire of hell. 

Against her side we poured. 



God's mercy ! from her sloping roof 

The iron tempest glanced, 
As hail bounds from a cottage-thatch. 

And round her leaped and danced. 

On, on, with fast increasing speed. 

The silent monster came, 
Though all our starboard battery 

Was one long line of flame. 

She heeded not; no guns she fired; 

Straight on our bows she bore; 
Through riving plank and crashing frame 

Her furious way she tore. 

Alas ! our beautiful, keen bow, 

That in the fiercest blast 
So gently folded back the seas. 

They hardly felt we passed. 

Alas ! alas ! my Cumberland, 
That ne'er knew grief before, 

To be so gored, to feel so deep 
The tusk of that sea-boar. 

Once more she backward drew apace; 

Once more our side she rent, 
Then, in the wantonness of hate, 

Her broadside through us sent. 

The dead and dying round us lay. 
But our foemen lay abeam ; 

Her open port-holes maddened us. 
We fired with shout and scream. 

We felt our vessel settling fast ; 

We knew our time was brief; 
"Ho ! man the pumps !" But they who 
worked 

And fought not, wept with grief. 

From captain down to powder-boy. 

No hand was idle then: 
Two soldiers, but by chance aboard, 

Foup-ht on like sailor men. 



BUCHANAN AND WORDEN. 



199 



And when a gun's crew lost a hand, 
Some bold marine stepped out, 

And jerked his braided jacket off, 
And hauled the gun about. 

Our forward magazine was drowned, 

And up from the sick bay 
Crawled out the wounded, red with blood, 

And round us gasping lay; — 

Yes, cheering, calling us by name. 
Struggling with failing breath 

To keep their shipmates at the post 
Where glory strove with death. 

With decks afloat and powder gone. 

The last broadside we gave 
From the guns' heated iron lips 

Burst out beneath the wave. 

"Up to the spar deck ! save yourselves !" 
Cried Selfridge. "Up my men ! 

God grant that some of us may live 
To fight yon ship again ! " 

We turned: we did not like to go; 

Yet staying seemed but vain. 
Knee-deep in water; so we left; 

Some swore, some groaned with pain. 

We reached the deck. There Randall 
stood : 

"Another turn, men — so ! " 
Calmly he aimed his pivot gun : 

" Now, Tenny, let her go ! " 

It did our sore hearts good to hear 

The song our pivot sang. 
As rushing on from wave to wave 

The whirring bomb-shell sprang. 

Brave Randall leaped upon the gun, 
And waved his cap in sport; 

" Well done ! well aimed ! I saw that 
shell 
Go through an open port ! " 



It was our last, our deadliest shot ; 

The deck was overflown ; 
The poor ship staggered, lurched to 
port, 

And gave a living groan. 

Down, down, as headlong through the 
waves 

Our gallant vessel rushed; 
A thousand gurgling, watery sounds 

Around my senses gushed. 

Then I remember little more ; 

One look to heaven I gave. 
Where, like an angel's wing, I saw 

Our spotless ensign wave. 

I tried to cheer. I cannot say 

Whether T swam or sank; 
A blue mist closed around my eyes, 

And everything was blank. 

When I awoke, a soldier lad, 

All dripping from the sea, 
With two great tears upon his cheeks, 

Was bending over me. 

I tried to speak. He understood 
The wish I could not speak. 

He turned me. There, thank God 1 
the flag 
Still fluttered at the peak 1 

And there, while thread shall hang to 
thread. 

Oh, let that ensign fly ! 
The noblest constellation set 

Against the northern sky — 

A sign that we who live may claim 

The peerage of the brave; 
A monument that needs no scroll. 

For those beneath the wave. 



i iPiji^'>jw^jji^»Bygj ' »Migtiwtyw» a j, i ^) i^ i n p i pp— MMa 





CHAPTER X. 

[ADMIRAL DAVID G. FARRAGUT 

HERO OF NFW ORLEANS AND MOBILE BAY — EN- 
TRUSTED WITH A PRIZE VESSEL AT THE AGE OF 
TWELVE — MADE A NAVAL COMMANDER — BRIL- 
LIANT EXPLOITS AND SUPERB VICTORIES — HAND- 
SOME PRESENT FROM THE CITIZENS OF NEW YORK. 

In 1776, George Farragut, the father of the admiral, emigrated to 
this country. He was born in Minorca in 1755, and traced his lineage 
through a long line of notable ancestors, back to Don Pedro Farragut^ 
who was in the service of James I, King of Aragon. He took an active 
part in the Revolutionary War, and served the United States as "muster 
master of the militia of the District of Washington (Hast Tennessee), 
employed in actual service for the protection of the frontiers of the 
United States south of the Ohio, from the ist of March, 1792, to the 26th 
of October, 1793." In 1810-11, he was sailing master of an expedition 
to the Bay of Pascagoula, and afterwards became magistrate at Pasca- 
goula. 

He had five children — three sons and two daughters. Of the former, 
David G. Farragut, was born at Campbell's Station, near Knoxville, 
Tenn., on the 5th of July, 1801. From his earliest years, he was inured 
to hardships and dangers by land and sea. His first experience on the 
sea was extremely distasteful to him ; but his father, by constantly tak- 
ing him out on the water in all sorts of weather, soon overcame his fears, 
and a strong attachment to the sailors life replaced his first feeling of 
distaste. When David was but a little over eight years of age, he was 
adopted by Commodore Porter who had formed a warm friendship for 
David's father, and was taken by the commodore to Washington, where 

lie was put to school. 
200 



ADMIRAL DAVID G. FARRAGUT. 



201 



During his stay at Washington, lie aroused the friendly interest of 
Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy, who assured him that on the 
conipletion of his tenth year, he shonld receive a midshipman's v/arrant 




ADMIRAL DAVID G. FARRAGUT. 

The boy then attended school at Chester, Pa., and on the 17th of December, 
1 8 10 — several months before the promised time — he received the appoint- 
ment in the navy, and served in the following summer under Commodore 
Porter, who commanded the Bssex. David accompanied Porter on his 



202 



ADMIRAL DAVID G. FARRAGUT. 



cruise to the West Indies in 1812, and througliout the war of that year 
displayed a precocity that was remarkable. 

He was but twelve years of age, but was entrusted with one of the 
prize vessels captured by Commodore Porter ; and it is related of the 
young prize master, that when the captain of the captured vessel flew 
into a fury at his diminutive captor's orders, and rushed below to load 
up his pistols, David, with a coolness of an old seaman, took complete 
command of the crew, issued his orders promptly, and informed the 

captain that if he came on deck with his 
pistols he would be thrown overboard. 
He took part in the bloody battle between 
the Essex and the Phoebe and Cherub, 
where he performed the duties of captain's 
aide, quarter-gunner, powder boy, and in 
fact everything that was required of him, 
as he states in his journal. 

On his return after the war, he 
again attended school at Chester, Pa. 
He sailed to the Mediterranean in 1815 
under Captain William M. Crane in the 
Independence, again in 18 16 on the 
Macedonian, and a third time in 18 17 
on which occasion he made a very extensive cruise, spending nine 
months with the United States Consul at Tunis, studying languages 
and mathematics. He made still another cruise in the Mediterranean 
in 1819, this time as acting lieutenant on the Shark, and in the 
following year sailed home to pass his examination. In May, 1822, 
he was appointed to the sloop-of-war John Adams, carrying the United 
States representatives to Mexico and Guatemala, and upon his return 
joined the schooner Greyhound, of Commodore Porter's fleet, and assisted 
in the expedition against the freebooters of the West Indies. 

He was subsequently made executive of&cer of the flagship Seagull 
of the same fleet, and remained in that position during a cruise amongst 




ADMIRAL DAVID G. FARRAGUT. 203 

the riffs of the Gulf. lu the year 1823, ^^ was married to Miss Susan 
C. Marchant, and in July of that year was ordered to the command of the 
Ferret, but during his voyage contracted the yellow fever and was taken 
to Washington, where he was placed in the hospital until his recovery. 
He received the commission of lieutenant and was assigned to the 
Brandy wine in 1825, on which vessel he again cruised in the Mediter- 
ranean, returning home in May 1826. From then until 1828, he re- 
mained at Norfolk, Va., with the exception of the first four months after 
his return, which were spent attending lectures at Yale College. Dur- 
ing the next ten years, he was in command of various vessels, cruising 
chiefly about the northern coasts of South America and in the Gulf; and 
at the end of that time, he spent two years at home, taking care of his 
invalid wife, who died in 1840 ; serving on court-martial, and learning 
the trade of carpenter. From 1841-43, he was again cruising in South 
American waters, and in December of the latter year he married Miss 
Virginia Loyall, a very superior woman in character and cultivation. 

COMMANDER IN THE MEXICAN WAR. 

During the Mexican War, he obtained command of the Saratoga, 
and sailed to Vera Cruz with the purpose of capturing the castle of San 
Juan d'Ulloa, but found on his arrival that the castle had just sur- 
rendered to the land forces. On his return in 1848, he was appointed to 
the Norfolk Navy Yard, and in 1850 was engaged at Washington in com- 
piling a book of ordnance regulations for the navy — a work which 
occupied him about a year and a half, at the end of which he returned 
to Norfolk. 

From 1854 until 1858, he was establishing a navy yard on Mare 
Island, in the bay of San Francisco ; and in July, 1858, he commanded 
the Brooklyn, conveying the United States Minister R. M. McLane to 
Vera Cruz, Mexico. During the latter part of i860 and the beginning 
of 1861, Farragut was at Norfolk; but, as the symptoms of war grew 
more pronounced, he was notified that his free expression of Northern 
sentiments was distasteful. He therefore moved to Baltimore with his 



204 ADMIRAL DAVID G. FARRAGUT. 

family, and later to Hastings-on-tlie-Hudson, where lie remained nearly 
a year. 

In December, 1861, he was suddenly ordered to Washington to join 
an expedition against New Orleans, and was placed in command of the 
steam sloop-of-war Hartford. His orders were "to collect such vessels 
as can be spared from the blockade, and proceed up the Mississippi River 
and reduce the defenses which guard the approaches to New Orleans, 
when you will appear off that city and take possession of it under the 
guns of your squadron." In the expedition an army of 15,000 men, 
commanded by General Benjamin F. Butler, constituted the land force, 
Farragut's fleet consisted of " six sloops-of-war, sixteen gunboats, 
twenty-one mortar schooners and five other vessels — carrying in all over 

200 guns. 

MASTER OF DETAILS OF SEAMANSHIP. 

From the i8th of April the advance began. Farragut was a perfect 
master of all the details of seamship, and it was with extreme caution at 
every step, and with the exercise of the most consummate skill and 
bravery, that he successfully passed the Confederate obstructions — com- 
pletely destroying the Confederate fleet sailing close to the forts (Jackson 
and St. Philip) on either bank of the river and silencing their guns by 
sweeping broadsides, until at length, on the 25th of April, the City of 
New Orleans was at his mercy — he having lost during the expedition 
37 men and one vessel. The forts surrendered to Commodore Porter on 
April 28. It was Farragut's wish immediately afterwards to capture 
Mobile, but he was retained in the Mississippi for the purpose of effect- 
ing an opening throughout the whole length of the river. On July 16, 
he received the commission of rear-admiral. 

In the spring of 1863, he assisted General N. P. Banks in the siege 
of Port Hudson, blockading the mouth of the Red River and remaining 
there until the surrender of Port Hudson on July 8. He then sailed to 
New York in the Hartford, and was received at that place Avith great 
public enthusiasm. His vessel was found, on examination, to have 
received 240 shots during her service of the past nineteen months. 



205 
for an 



ADMIRAL DAVID G. FARRAGUT. 

In 1864, lie was again at tlie Gulf, awaiting an opportunity 
attack on Mo- 
bile. Later lie 
was reinforced 
by several 
iron-clads and 
troops under 
General Gor- 
don Granger. 
On August 
5tli the attack 
began, and 
was conduct- 
ed with even 
greater care 
than the ad- 
vance on New 
Orleans. It 
was F a r r a - 
gut's habit to 
issue the most 
minute in- 
true t i o n s to 
cover every 
possible con- 
tingency, and 
in this en- 
gagement he 
surveyed the 
whole field of 
action from a 

position in the map showing city of mobile and its defences. 

port main rigging of the Hartford, which led the fleet into the bay 




206 ADMIRAL DAVID G. FARRAGUT. 

The Confederate fleet was compelled to surrender after a terrible loss of 

life on botli sides. 

Tlie National fleet lost 335 men, the Confederate fleet losing only a 
few, many more having been killed in the forts ; 280 Confederate pris- 
oners were taken, and a few days later the forts surrendered. At the 
close of this bloody fight the quartermaster said that the admiral came 
on deck at the time that the bodies of the killed were laid out, and, he 
adds, "It was the only time I ever saw the old gentleman cry ; but tears 
came in his eyes like a little child." 

SPLENDID PUBLIC RECEPTION. 

Farragut's health gave way in November, and, returning home, he 
reached New York on December 12, where another public reception was 
given him, and he was presented with a purse of $50,000 to purchase a 
New York home. On July 6, 1865, he was tendered a complimentary 
dinner by the Union Club of Boston, on which occasion Oliver Wendell 
Holmes read a poem composed in honor of the admiral. 

In July of the following year Congress created the grade of admiral 
and assigned it to Farragut, who assumed command of the Franklin 
and cruised for some time in European waters, during which he visited 
Minorca, the home of his ancestors. He returned and visited California 
in 1869. The following summer he spent at the house of Rear-admiral 
Pennock, in Portsmouth, N. H. One day he stepped aboard a dismantled 
sloop-of-war in the harbor, and, after a short visit, almost pathetic in its 
suggestion of former days, he went on shore, remarking sadly: " That is 
the last time I shall ever tread the deck of a man-of-war." His words 
proved prophetic indeed ; for on August 14, 1870, his spirit passed away. 

Farragut was a skilled and heroic commander, a thorough and cultured 
scholar, and a Christian man whose character was notably honest and 
pure. We append the last lines of the tribute of Dr. Holmes : 
" I give the name that fits him best — 

Ay, better than his own — 
The Sea-king of the Sovereign West, 
Who made his mast a throne." 




CHAPTER XI. 

COMMANDER WM. B. GUSHING. 

HERO OF A DARING DEED — DESTRUCTION 
OF THE IRONCLAD ALBEMARLE — IN THE 
JAWS OF DEATH — WORLD-RENOWNED AT 
THE AGE OF THIRTY — AN UNRIVALLED 
CAREER IN THE NAVAL SERVICE. 

" No man in our navy," says J. T. 
Headley, " at iiis age lias ever won so brilliant a reputation." This 
was said of Commander William B. Gushing, a brave naval ofi&cer, born 
in Wisconsin, about 1842. 

During our Civil War tbe sounds and waters of Nortb Carolina 
were early the scenes of important enterprises by tbe combined army 
and navy of the United States. The Hatteras forts, Roanoke Island, 
Newberne, Plymouth and other places were early captured, some of them 
after regular actions. A position was gained from which the important 
inland communication was threatened, which was vital to the Confed- 
eracy, while the commerce of the sound was, for the time being, entirely 
destroyed. It was important for them to regain what they had lost, and 
to this end they put forth every effort. Among other means they com- 
menced and hastened to completion a formidable ironclad vessel. 

In June, 1863, Lieutenant-Commander C. W. Flusser, an excellent 
and throughly reliable of&cer, had reported that a battery was building 
at Edward's Ferry, near Weldon, on the Roanoke River, to be cased with 
pine sills, fourteen inches square, and plated with railroad iron. The 
slanting roof was to be made of five inches of pine, five inches of oak, 
and railroad iron over that. 

Unfortunately, the light draught iron-clads, which would have been 

207 



208 



COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 



on liand to meet this vessel, turned out failures, and the light wooden 
gun-boats and " double enders " employed in the sounds bad to encounter 
her. She was accompanied by a ram, wbicb the Union fleet bad no 
vessel fit to meet. In April, 1864, tbe Albemarle being completed, tbe 
Confederates were ready to carry out tbeir plan of attack, wbicb was tbe 
first to recapture Plymouth, by the assistance of the ram, and then 










IRON-CLAD GUNBOAT. 

send her into Albemarle Sound to capture or disperse our fleet. A force 
of ten thousand men, wbicb they bad collected, made an advance and 
gained possession of tbe town. 

Lieutenant-Commander Flusser was then at Plymouth with four 
vessels, the Miami, " a double ender," and three ferry-boats, armed 
with nine-inch guns, and exceedingly frail in structure, called the South- 
field, Ceres and Whitehead. At half-past nine, on the evening of April 
i8tb., he wrote to Admiral Lee that there bad been fighting there al"^ 



COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 209 

day, and he feared tlie enemy Had liad tlie best of it. " The ram will be 
down to-nigbt or to-morrow. I shall have to abandon my plan of fighting 
the ram lashed to the Southfield. I think I have force enough to whip 
the ram, but not sufficient to assist in holding the town, as I should 
like." Six hours after writing this, Flusser lay dead upon the deck of 
his ship. Very early on the morning of the 19th of April the White- 
head, which had been stationed up the river, reported that the ram was 
coming down and evidently meant business. 

EAGER TO JOIN IN BATTLE. 

The Whitehead was in a critical position when she discovered the 
ram, for she was between her and a southern battery. Some obstruc- 
tions had been placed to stop the Albemarle, but she passed them easily. 
A narrow passage or " thoroughfare " led down to Plymouth beside the 
main channel, and the Whitehead managed to run into this, unperceived 
by the ram, and so got down ahead of the Confederate vessel, which did 
not attack until half-past three in the morning. When the ironclad was 
seen coming down, the Miami and Southfield were lashed together, and 
Flusser, from the Miami, ordered them to meet her at full speed. 

The Albemarle came on silently, with closed ports, and struck the 
Miami a glancing blow on her port bow, doing some damage but causing 
no leak. She then crushed the side of the Southfield, so that she at 
once began to sink. As she passed between the two vessels, the forward 
lashings parted and the Miami swung around. The after lashings were 
cut, and, after a number of the Southfield's men had succeeded in reach- 
ing the Miami that vessel steamed off down the river, leaving her 
consort to sink. The officer left in command by Flusser' s death thus 
speaks of this unfortuate affair: 

" As soon as the battery could be brought to bear upon the ram, 

both steamers, the Southfield and Miami, commenced firing solid shot 

from the one-hundred-pound Parrot rifles and eleven-inch Dahlgren guns, 

they making no perceptible indentations in her armor. Commander 

Flusser fired the first three shots from the Miami personally, the third 
14 A PH 



210 COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 

being a ten-second Datilgren shell, eleven-incli. It was directly after 
tliat fire that he was killed by pieces of shell ; several of the gunboat's 
crew were wounded at the same time. 

" Our bow hawser being stranded, the Miami then swung round to 
starboard, giving the ram a chance to pierce us. Necessity then required 
the engine to be reversed in motion, to straighten the vessel in the 
river, to prevent going on the bank of the river, and to bring the rifle- 
gun to bear upon the ram. During the time of straightening the 
steamer the ram had also straightened, and was making for us. From 
the fatal effects of her prow upon the Southfield, and of our sustaining 
injury, I deemed it useless to sacrifice the Miami in the same way." 

The gunboats being driven off, the Confederates captured Plymouth 
on April 20th. As it was expected that the Albemarle would at once 
enter the Sound, and attack the squadron there, all possible preparations 
were made to meet her and give her a warm reception. 

DIRECTIONS GIVEN FOR THE COMBAT. 

Four of the squadron were "double enders," the Miami, Matta- 
besett, Sassacus and Wyalusing. The smaller vessels were the Ceres, 
Commodore Hull, Seymour and Whitehead. They were all armed with 
9-inch guns and loopound rifles. The senior officer in the sounds. Cap- 
tain M. Smith, ordered the large vessels to pass as close as possible to 
the ram, delivering their fire, and rounding to immediately for a second 
discharge. He also suggested the vulnerable points of the ram, and 
recommended that an endeavor be made to foul her propeller, if possible. 

He also directed, among other things, that a blow of the ram should 
be received as near the stern as possible, and the vessel rammed was to 
go ahead fast, to prevent her from withdrawing it, while the others 
attacked the propeller. If armed launches accompanied the ram they 
were to be met by the smaller vessels, with shrapnel, when approaching, 
and hand grenades when near. He leaves the question of ramming to 
each commander, on account of the peculiar construction of the " double- 
enders." 



COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 211 

Small steamers were placed on picket, at tlie moutli of the Roanoke, 
and on the 5th of I\Iay the ram made its appearance, and chased the 
picket boats in. Signals were made, and the vessels got nnder way, and 
stood np to engage the ironclad. The Albemarle was accompanied by a 
small steamer which she had captured not long before. At about half- 
past four in the afternoon the Albemarle opened the battle by a shot 
which destroyed a boat and wounded several men on board the Mattabe- 
sett. The second shot damaged the same vessel's rigging. By this time 
the Mattabesett was very near the little steamer, which immediately 
surrendered. 

The Mattabesett then gave the ram a broadside, at about one hun- 
dred and fifty yards, then rounded to under her stern, and came up on 
the other side. Her shot either broke, or glanced off the ram's armor, 
without any effect. She had the muzzle knocked off of one of her two 
guns, by a shot from the ram, but continued to use it during the 
remainder of the action. The Sassacus came gallantly on, in like manner, 
df^Hvering her fire at the Albemarle. The latter then attempted to ram 
the Sassacus, but the latter crossed her bows, by superior speed. 

SHOT THAT WENT CLEAR THROUGH. 

At this time the ram had partially turned, and exposed her side to 
the Sassacus, when the wooden double-ender rushed at her, -under full 
steam, in hope of either crushing in her side, or of bearing her 
down until she should sink. The Sassacus struck the ironclad fairly, 
and received, at the same moment, a lOO-pounder rifle shot, which went 
through and through her. She struck the Albemarle a heavy blow, 
careening her, and bearing her down till the water washed across her 
deck. 

The Sassacus kept her engines going, in the attempt to push the ram 
down, while many efforts were made to throw hand grenades down her 
deck hatch, and powder down her smoke stack, but without success, as 
there was a cap upon the stack. 

Soon the ram swung round, and as soon as her guns would bear, 



212 COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 

anofher loo-pound rifle shot went througli tHe side of the Sassacus, 
through her coal bunker, and crashed into her starboard boiler. 
Instantly the whole ship was filled with steam, which scalded and suffo- 
cated her crew. All her firemen were scalded, and one was killed; 
and twenty-one men were instantly placed hors de combat. She was 
forced to withdraw from action. 

The other gunboats continued the fight, and the Miami endeavored 
to explode against the ram a torpedo which she carried. But the Albe- 
marle was skilfully handled, and succeeded, each time, in avoiding the 
blow. Two of the other gunboats endeavored to foul the propeller of the 
ram by laying out seines in her track. Although the nets seemed all about 
her, she escaped them. An observer from the shore has likened this 
curious scene to a number of wasps attacking a large horny beetle. In 
fine, the Albemarle proved invulnerable to the guns of the gunboats, 
even when discharged almost in contact with her sides. 

CAME OFF BEST IN DESPERATE ENCOUNTER. 

The action lasted for three hours, or until night came on. Every- 
thing that brave men could do to destroy the enemy it was their duty to 
encounter, was done by the gunboats, but the ironclad went back to 
Plymouth without serious damage, and without the loss of a man, after 
being the target, at short range, for more than two hundred shot from 
ii-inch and 9-inch guns, and more than one hundred shot from 100- 
pounder rifles. 

The gunboats, other than the Sassacus, were very much damaged, 
and it was plain that they were unfit to meet the Albemarle, however 
ably handled or gallantly fought. The ram came out again on the 24th 
of May, but did not enter the Sound, apparently fearing torpedoes. The 
next day a party left the Wyalusing in a boat, with two torpedoes, to 
endeavor to destroy the Albemarle, as she lay at Plymouth. 

They carried the torpedoes across the swamps on a stretcher, and then 
two of the party swam across the river with a line, and hauled the tor- 
pedoes over to the Plymouth shore. These were then connected by a bridle, 



COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 213 

so tliat they should float down and strike on each side of the ram's bows. 
Unfortunately, they were discovered, and the plan failed. 

Lines of torpedoes were then placed at the mouth of the Roanoke, 
to destroy the ram if she should come down again, and as this proceed- 
ing could not be kept secret, the ironclad did not again venture down. 
She lay quietly at Plymouth until the latter part of October, a constant 
threat to our fleet in the sounds, and preventing any attempt to recapture 
the town. She was very securely moored to a wharf, and a guard of 
soldiers was placed on board, in addition to her crew. 

MONSTER ANCHORED AND GUARDED. 

Every night fires were made on shore, to prevent the approach of an 
enemy unseen. More than this, she was surrounded by large logs, 
moored some thirty feet from her hull, all round, to keep off" any boat 
which might approach with a torpedo. From the mouth of the Roanoke 
to where the Albemarle lay is about eight miles, and the stream there 
about two hundred yards wide. 

The banks were well picketed by the enemy. About a mile below 
Plymouth was the sunken wreck of the Southfield, and about her were 
some schooners, which also formed a picket station in mid-stream. It 
seemed impossible for a boat to get up the river and not be discovered, 
and yet Lieutenant William B. Gushing, of the United States Navy, not 
only undertook to do so, but succeeded in destroying this formidable craft, 
"the terror of the sounds." 

Admiral Ammeu, of the Navy, has given a capital sketch of Gushing, 
in the "United Service Magazine," from which we shall borrow freely: 

"William B. Gushing was born in Wisconsin, in November, 1842, 
and entered the Naval Academy in 1857, ^^^ resigned in March, 1861, 
entering the naval service afloat, as an Acting Master's Mate. His dis- 
position and temperament would not permit him to remain at a naval 
school in time of war, as he would not have been able to give a single 
thought to theoretical study. 

" In October, 1861, he was restored to his rank as Midshipman, and 



214 COMMANDER WILlIAM B. GUSHING. 

on tlie i6tli of July following lie was, with many other young officers, 
made a Lieutenant, owing to the exigencies of the service growing out 
of the civil war. Henceforth, for nearly three years, his career was sin- 
gularly conspicuous in deeds of daring, in a service where a lack of 
gallantry would have brought disgrace. It is plain, therefore, that it 
was the sagacity of his plans and his boldness in carrying them out that 
distinguished him. 

" At the close of the war he was barely twentj^-two and a half years 
of age, rather slightly built, about five feet in height, and boyish looking. 
He had large gray eyes, a prominent aquiline nose, yellowish hair, worn 
quite long, and withal, a rather grave expression of countenance. When 
speaking, his face would light up with a bright and playful smile. A 
comrade likened his springy, elastic step, high cheek bones and general 
physiognomy to that of an Indian. The first impression of a stranger 
who heard him speak, either of what he had done or hoped to do, would 
be that he was a boaster — but with those who knew him best there was 
no such idea ; his form of speech was a mere expression, frankly uttered, 
of what he had done, or what he intended to do." 

A SIMPLE AND UNASSUMING MANNER. 

The foregoing is Admiral Ammen's estimate of the man. To some 
of it the writer must dissent. He accompanied Gushing on a short jour- 
ney soon after the Albemarle affair, while the country was still ringing 
with his brilliant exploit, and when steamboats, railroads and hotels were 
refusing to accept any money from either him or his chance companions ; 
and all sorts and conditions of men were being introduced to him, to have 
the honor of shaking his hand ; and yet a more simple, boy-like, unas- 
suming manner no one placed in such a position ever had. 

He early received command of a small steamer, engaged in block- 
ading, and would make expeditions in the inland waters in his boat, 
sometimes lying concealed all day, but always having some definite ob- 
ject commensurate with the risks involved. He more than once obtained 
important information in this way. 



COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 215 

Not only did lie have frequent engagements in his little vessel with 
field batteries of the enemy, but was successful in destroying schooners 
with supplies, saltworks and other things which tended to cripple his 
enemy. 

In the winter of 1864, when blockading the Cape Fear River, Gush- 
ing determined to pay a visit to Smithville in a boat, with only six men. 
In entering the river, he had to pass Fort Caswell, and at Smithville, 
two miles above, he knew there was a battery of five guns, and a consid- 
erable garrison. About eleven o'clock at night he landed, one hundred 
^ards above the battery, came into the village, and into a large house with 
I piazza, which was the headquarters of General Hebert. 

BOLD ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE A GENERAL. 

A major and captain of the general's staff were about going to bed, 
iu a room on the piazza, when, hearing footsteps, and supposing his 
servant was there, the major threw up a window, and a navy revolver was 
at once thrust in his face, with a demand for surrender. He pushed the 
pistol aside, and escaped through the back door, calling to his compan- 
ion to follow as the enemy were upon them. The latter failed to under- 
stand and was taken prisoner by Cushing and carried off. He pushed off 
down the river, knowing that an immediate alarm would be given. It 
was a beautiful moonlight night, but Cushing escaped unharmed. 

This audacious effort to capture General Hebert was characteristic 
of Cushing, and was only frustrated by the fact that the general happened 
to spend the night in Wilmington instead of his own quarters. 

At the capture of Newbern, Cushing distinguished himself in com- 
mand of a battery of navy howitzers. In landing in the marsh, Cushing 
had lost his shoes, and, while pressing on, he encountered the servant of 
a Captain Johnson, of the army, who had a pair of spare boots slung over 
his shoulder. Cushing asked who was the owner of the boots, and 
said: "Tell the captain that Lieutenant Cushing, of the Navy, was bare- 
footed, and has borrowed them for the day," and then put on the boots 
in haste, and pursued his way to the fight. 



216 COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 

In tlie destruction of tlie Albemarle we see Cusliing in another, and 
a truly heroic light. The newspaper correspondents had managed to 
make his task as difficult as possible, for they had, for several weeks, 
apprised the public, and of course the enemy, that Gushing was on his way 
from the North with a torpedo boat, to blow up the Albemarle. No method 
could have been taken to render the enemy more watchful, and the 
destruction of the ironclad impossible. 

We have already spoken of the "cordon" of logs enclosing her as 
in a pen ; the extra guards and fires, the howitzers ready loaded, and the 
pickets down the river. The enemy was very vigilant, and Cushing's 
approach was discovered. Yet we find him perfectly cool amidst a heavy 
fire from small arms and howitzers, standing forward in his launch, 
pushing his way at full speed over the logs, and only intent upon lower- 
ing his torpedo and striking the enemy's vessel at the proper time. He 
did this most effectually, but, at the very moment of doing so, a shell 
from one of the heavy guns of the Albemarle struck the torpedo boat, 
and she went down, swamped by the column of water and spray which 
rose high in the air when the torpedo exploded. 

CUSHING'S REPORT OF HIS FAMOUS EXPLOIT. 

Nothing could be more graphic or characteristic than Cushing's 
report of the affair, as follows : 

"Albemarle Sound, N. C, 

"October 30, 1864. 

" Sir : — I have the honor to report that the ironclad Albemarle is 
at the bottom of the Roanoke River. On the night of the 27th, having 
prepared my steam launch, I proceeded up towards Plymouth with thir- 
teen officers and men, partly volunteers from the squadron. The dis- 
tance from the mouth of the river to the ram was about eight miles, the 
stream averaging in width some two hundred yards, and lined with the 
enemy's pickets. 

"A mile below the town was the wreck of the Southfield, surrounded 
by some schooners, and it was understood that a gun was mounted there 
to command the bend. I therefore took one of the Shamrock's cutters 



COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 217 

in tow, witli orders to cast off and board at that point, if we were 
hailed. 

" Our boat succeeded in passing the pickets, and even the Southfield, 
within twenty yards, without discovery, and we were not hailed until by 
the lookouts on the ram. The cutter was then cast off, and ordered 
below, while we made for our enemy under a full head of steam. The 
Confederates sprung their rattle, rang the bell, and commenced firing, 
at the same time repeating their hail, and seeming much confused. 

" The light of a fire ashore showed me the ironclad made fast to 
the wharf, with a pen of logs around her, about thirty feet from her side. 

"Passing her closely, we made a complete circle, so as to strike her 
fairly, and went into her, bows on. By this time the enemy's fire was 
very severe, but a dose of canister, at short range, served to moderate 
their zeal and disturb their aim, much to our advantage. 

AIR THICK WITH BULLETS. 

" Paymaster Swan, of the Otsego, was wounded near me, but how 
many more I know not. Three bullets struck my clothing, and the air 
seemed full of them. In a moment we had struck the logs just abreast 
of the quarter port, breasting them in some feet, and our bows resting 
on them. The torpedo boom was then lowered, and by a vigorous pull 
I succeeded in diving the torpedo under the overhang and exploding it 
at the same time that the Albemarle's gun was fired. A shot seemed to 
go crashing through my boat, and a dense mass of water rushed in from 
the torpedo, filling the launch, and completely disabling her. 

" The enemy then continued his fire at fifteen feet short range, and 
demanded our surrender, which I twice refused, ordering the men to 
save themselves, and, removing my own coat and shoes, springing into 
the river, I swam with others into the middle of the stream, the Con- 
federates failing to hit us. The most of our party were captured, some 
were drowned, and only one escaped besides myself, and he in another 
direction. Acting Master's Mate Woodman, of the Commodore Hull, 
I met in the water half a mile below the town, and assisted him as best 
I could, but failed to get him ashore. 

" Completely exhausted, I managed to reach the shore, but was too 
weak to crawl out of the water until just at daylight, when I managed 
to creep into the swamp close to the fort. While hiding, a few feet from 



218 COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 

the path, two of the Albemarle's officers passed, and I judged, from 
their conversation, that the ship was destroyed. 

" Some hours' travelling in the swamp served to bring me out well 
below the town, when I sent a negro in to gain information, and found 
that the ram was truly sunk. Proceeding to another swamp I came to 
a creek, and captured a skiff belonging to a picket of the enemy, and 
with this, by eleven o'clock the next night, had made my way out to the 
Valley City. 

CONSPICUOUS BRAVERY OF A NAVAL OFFICER. 

" Acting Master's Mate William L. Howarth, of the Monticello, 
showed, as usual, conspicuous bravery. He is the same officer who has 
been with me twice in Wilmington harbor. I trust he may be promoted 
when exchanged, as well as Acting Third Assistant Engineer Stotes- 
bury, who, being for the first time under fire, handled his engine 
promptly and with coolness. 

" All the officers and men behaved in the most gallant manner. I 
will furnish their names to the Department as soon as they can be 
procured. 

" The cutter of the Shamrock boarded the Southfield, but found no 
gun. Four prisoners were taken there. The ram is now completely 
submerged, and the enemy have sunk three schooners in the river to 
obstruct the passage of our ships. I desire to call the attention of the 
Admiral and Department to the spirit manifested by the sailors on the 
ships in these sounds. But few men were wanted, but all hands were 
eager to go into action, many offering their chosen shipmates a month's 
pay to resign in their favor. 

" I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"W. B. Gushing, 

"Lieutenant, U.S.N." 

" Rear- Admiral D. D. Porter, 

"Commanding N. A. Squadron : 

" The name of the man who escaped is William Hoftman, seaman 
on the Chicopee. He did his duty well, and deserves a medal of 
honor. 

" Respectfully, 

"W. B. CUSHING, U.S. N." 



COMMANDER WILLIAM B. GUSHING. 219 

Cushing, for this daring piece of service, was himself advanced to 
the rank of lieutenant-commander. 

Such men are never mere imitators, and his unvarying success in 
whatever he undertook was due to his clever planning and admirable 
execution. Attempts by those of inferior qualities in such respects would 
end in their capture or death. 

PROMOTED FOR HIS GALLANT CONDUCT. 

After the close of the war he was for some two years executive officer 
of the Lancaster, a position which required close attention and study to 
fulfill its duties in the best manner. 

Afterwards he served three years in command of the Maumee, on the 
Asiatic station. He was promoted, in the regular order of vacancies, to 
commander, January 31, 1872, and soon after was ordered to the com- 
mand of the Wyoming, on the home station, and was relieved at the end 
of a year, the vessel being put out of commission. 

In the spring of 1874 he was ordered to the Washington Navy Yard, 
and the following August was detached at his own request. He then 
seemed in impaired health and expressed a desire to go South ; after the 
lapse of a few days he showed signs of insanity, and was removed to the 
Government Hospital, where he died, December 17, 1874, at the age of 
thirty-two years and thirteen days. 

His becoming insane was a great regret and surprise to his many 
friends and admirers, in and out of the naval service ; it was, however, a 
consolation for them to know that it was not the result of bad habits or 
of causes within his control. His misfortune, and that of the naval ser- 
vice to which he belonged, was seemingly a lack of rigid early training, 
necessary to healthful thought in ordinary times, and to a continued 
development of those points in naval education which are so useful in 
peace and so essential to success in the higher grades. 

There are few Cushings in the histories of navies ; they can have no 
successful imitators ; they pass away, as it were, before they reach their 
destined goal, regretted and admired. 




CHAPTER XII 

CAPTAIN JOHN PAUL JONES. 

HERO OF A DESPERATE FIGHT — HIS RECKLESS BRAV- 
FRY — HAND TO HAND ENCOUNTER — MANY THRILL- 
ING ADVENTURES — AWARDED MEDAL BY CONGRESS. 

Our American navy, botli in its early and later history, has gained 
magnificent victories. Its superb achievements on the sea have rivalled 
the heroic exploits of our military forces on land. The grand qualities 
that make up the highest type of sailor have been exhibited many times, 
from the period of the Revolution down to our war with Spain. 

One of the most desperate fights on the water occurred between the 
warship Serapis and the Bonhomme Richard. It was the first naval 
engagement that proved the prowess of the American sailor, and gave 
our heroes of the sea a renown that forms the most glowing record of 
our history. This remarkable action is interesting not only on account 
of its bloody and desperate character, and on account of the sensation it 
produced at the time, but because it illustrates one phase of our great 
struggle for independence. 

The hero of this action, John Paul, was born at Kirkcudbright, in 
Scotland, July 6th, 1747 ; and was sent to sea, as an apprentice, at the age 
of twelve. He afterwards made voyages as mate of a slaver, then an 
honored and recognized employment for a portion of the Bnglish mer- 
chant marine. At twenty-one he had command of a vessel in the West 
India trade, so that his merits as a seaman were early recognized. He 
afterwards became a trader in a vessel of his own. At the age of twenty- 

220-SPECIAL 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 221 

six he left the sea ; and adopted the name of Jones. The reason for 
this does not clearly appear. He may have had some old scores to clear ; 
and, settling in a new world, may have thought a new name necessary. 
In December, 1775, he was appointed a first lieutenant in the 
United Colonial Navy, and ordered to the Alfred, our first flag-ship. He 
hoisted the first flag of the Colonies afloat ; a yellow flag, with the pine 
tree and rattlesnake. In this ship he participated in several actions and 
was afterwards in command of the Providence, when he only escaped 
capture by excellent seamanship. He made many prizes in this ship, 

CAPTURED MANY VALUABLE PRIZES. 

On October loth, 1776, he was named the eighteenth naval captain, 
and, in command of the Alfred and Providence, captured a valuable 
armed ship, and other prizes, again eluding recapture by good seaman- 
ship. He next went to European waters in command of the Ranger, 18, 
and there received from a French squadron, the first salute to the Stars 
and Stripes, by this time adopted. 

He cruised in English waters, burning ships at White Haven, and 
spiking guns in batteries on shore ; and then attempted to carry off 
the Earl of Selkirk. In this he failed, but having carried off some of 
that nobleman's plate, was branded by the English as a pirate. This 
epithet came with a bad grace from a nation then celebrated for thorough 
"looting" of every place which came into their hands, in India, and 
elsewhere. The real offence was that Jones was an English subject, 
who had renounced his allegiance, and was serving against the mother 
country ; like all the rest of those engaged in the Revolution. During 
this cruise in the Ranger he took the Drake, of 20 guns. 

After this he received from the French government an old India- 
man, called the Due de Duras, which he renamed the " Bonhomme 
Richard," or Poor Richard, in allusion to the publication b}^ Benjamin 
Franklin. He had some other armed vessels, mostly '' letters of marque," 
under his command. 

The Bonhomme Richard had 40 guns, and a mixed crew, of various 



222 JOHN PAUL JONES. 

nationalities. Jones sailed under siicli hampering restrictions tliat lie 
was prevented from carrying out many promising projects ; but at last, 
on tlie 23d of September, lie fell in witli a Baltic fleet of merchantmen, 
convoyed by the Knglisli frigate Serapis, 44 guns, and the Countess of 
Scarborough, 20 guns. The result of the engagement wbicli ensued 
will be given hereafter. 

DRIVEN BACK BY A SEVERE GALE. 

To continue the sketch of Jones himself, we may say that, in 1780, 
the year after this action, he sailed for the United States, in the Ariel, 
but lost his masts in a severe gale of wind, and was obliged to return to 
France ; whence he sailed again and arrived safely, about the beginning 
of 1 781. He was then launched in the America, 74 guns, which was pre- 
sented by our Government to the French ; and he made a cruise in her 
as a volunteer. 

In 1783 he was prize agent of the United States in Europe ; and 
finally, in 1787, while in Denmark, he resigned, and entered the Russian 
navy — hoisting his flag, as rear admiral, in the Vladimir, on the 28th 
of June, 1788. He found so much jealousy and enmit}^ towards him 
that he resigned in about a year. Afterwards he resided in Holland and 
France, and was appointed Commissioner of the United States to Algiers 
— but his death occurred at this time, at the age of forty-five. 

And now, to return to his cruise in the Bonhomme Richard : — Paul 
Jones had obtained so much celebrity for his cruise in the Ranger, that, 
after that ship departed for America he remained in France, in the hope 
of receiving a more important command. During the years 1778-9 
various projects were discussed, in which he was to have a part. One 
idea was to make a descent upon Liverpool, with a body of troops to be 
commanded by La Fayette. These plans all came to nothing, and his 
offers of service were repulsed ; until at last a singular arrangement was 
proposed to him. 

M. de Sartine, French Minister of Marine, in a letter of February, 
I4tli, 1779, states that the king of France has decided to purchase, and 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 223 

put at tlie disposition of Captain Jones, the Duras — an old Indiaman of 
some size, then at 1' Orient. To this vessel were added three more, pro- 
cured by means of M. le Ray de Chaumont, a banker who had connec- 
tions with the French Ministry. Dr. Franklin, who, as Minister of the 
United States, was supposed, in a legal sense, to direct the whole affair, 
added the Alliance, 32, by virtue of authority from Congress. 

THE SHIPS AND THEIR COMMANDERS. 

The vessels thus procured formed a little squadron, composed of the 
Bonhomme Richard, Alliance, Pallas, Cerf, and Vengeance. The Pallas 
was a purchased merchantman ; the Vengeance a small purchased brig ; 
the Cerf was a large cutter, and, with the exception of the Alliance, the 
only vessel of the squadron built for war purposes. All but the Alliance 
were French built, and they were placed under the American flag by the 
following arrangement : the officers received appointments, which were 
to remain valid for a limited period only, from Dr. Franklin, who had 
been furnished blank commissions, to fill at his own discretion, ever since 
he had arrived in Europe. 

The vessels were to show the American ensign and no other. In 
short, the French ships were to be considered as American ships during 
this particular service : and when it was terminated they were to revert 
to their former owners. The laws and provisions made for the American 
navy were to govern, and command was to be exercised, and to 
descend, according to its usage. Such officers as already had rank in the 
American navy took precedence, agreeably to dates of commission, and 
new appointments were regulated by priority of appointment. 

By especial provision, Captain Jones was to be commander-in-chief, 
a post which his original commission entitled him to fill, as Captain 
Landais, the only other regular captain in the squadron, was his junior. 
The joint right of the American Minister and of the French Government 
to direct the movements of the squadron was recognized. 

It is not exactly known from what source the money was obtained 
to fit out this squadron ; and it is likely that it never will be known, 



224 JOHN PAUL JONES. 

especially as the Frencli Revolution destroyed so many records, public 
and private. Altliougli the name of the king was used, it is possible 
that private adventure was at the bottom of the enterprise, although the 
French Government furnished vessels and the use of its stores. Dr. 
Franklin expressly stated that he made no advances for the ships 
employed. 

As everything connected with this remarkable expedition has inter- 
est for us, it is as well to go a little further into the composition of the 
force fitted out by Jones. After many delays, the Bonhomme Richard 
was equipped and manned. It was intended to cast i8-pounders for her, 
but as that would take too much time, old 12's were substituted. With 
this change in armament, the Richard, as she was called by the sailors, 
got ready for sea. She was, properly, a single-decked ship, that is, carry- 
ing her armament on one gun-deck, with the usual additions on the 
quarter-deck and forecastle. 

PLACES GUNS IN POSITION FOR THE FIGHT. 

But Commodore Jones, with a view to attacking the enemy's large 
convoys, caused 12 ports to be cut in the gun-room, below, where six old 
i8-pounders were mounted, with the intention of fighting all of them on 
the same side, in smooth water. It was foreseen that these guns could 
only be of use in moderate weather, or when engaged to leeward, but the 
ship's height admitted of them, and it was done. 

On her gun-deck proper the ship had twenty-eight ports, the regular 
construction of an English 38-gun ship at that time. Here the 12 
pounders were placed. On her quarter-deck and forecastle were mounted 
eight 9's ; making, in all, a mixed armament, rather light, to be sure, of 
42 guns. If the six iB's were taken away, the ship would have been 
what was called a 32-gun frigate. She was a clumsy vessel, built many 
years before, with the high, old-fashioned poop, which resembled a tower. 

With a vessel of this singular armament and unwieldy construction, 
Jones was compelled to receive on board a crew of very doubtful com- 
position. A few Americans filled officers' positions ; but the crew 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 225 

embraced representatives of more than twelve nationalities. To keep this 
motley crew iu order, one hundred and thirty-five marines, or soldiers, 
were put on board. These were nearly as much mixed, as to nation- 
alities, as the sailors. Just as the squadron was about to sail M. le Ray 
de Chaumont appeared at 1' Orient, and presented a concordat or agree- 
ment, for the signature of all the commanders. This looked very much 
like a partnership in a privateering expedition, and was the cause of 
much after disobedience among Jones' captains. 

On June 19, 1779, the ships sailed, bound south, with a small convoy 
of vessels. These they escorted safely into the Garonne, and other ports ; 
but not without repeated exhibition, thus early, of disobedience of orders, 
and unseamanlike conduct, which marked the whole career of this 
squadron, so ill assorted and manned. While lying to, off the coast, the 
Alliance, by lubberly handling, got foul of the Richard, and lost her 
mizzen-mast ; carrying away, at the same time, the head, cutwater and 
jib-boom of the Richard, This necessitated a return to port, to refit. 

EXPLOIT OF THE CUTTER CERF. 

When at sea again, and steering to the northward, the Cerf cutter 
was sent in chase of a strange sail, and parted company. The next morn- 
ing she engaged a small English cruiser, of 14 guns, and caused her to 
strike, after a sharp fight of an hour ; but she was forced to abandon her 
prize by the approach of an enemy's vessel of superior force. The Cerf 
went into I'Orient again. 

On the 23d three enemy's vessels-of-war were seen by the squadron; 
and, having the wind, they ran down in a line abreast, when, most proba- 
bly deceived by the height and general appearance of the Richard, they 
hauled up and escaped under a press of sail. On the 26th the Alliance 
and Pallas parted company with the Richard, leaving that ship with the 
Vengeance brig only, for consort. On reaching the Penmarks, a head- 
land of Finisterre, the designated rendezvous, the missing vessels did not 
appear. On the 29th, the Vengeance having gone by permission into 

Groix Roads, the Richard fell in with two more English cruisers, which, 
15 APH 



226 JOHN PAUL JONES. 

after some hesitation, also ran, evidently under the impression that the 
Richard was a two-decker. 

Jones had reason to be satisfied with the spirit of his crew on this 
occasion, the people manifesting a strong disposition to engage. At last, 
on the 30th, the Richard ran into Isle Groix, off 1' Orient; and about the 
same time the Pallas and Alliance came in. Then another delay occurred. 
A court was convened to inquire into the conduct of Captain Landais, of 
the Alliance, in running foul of the Richard. Both ships also had to 
undergo repairs. Luckily, just then a cartel arrived from England, 
bringing more than one hundred exchanged American seamen, most of 
whom joined the squadron. 

GALLANT YOUNG LIEUTENANT DALE. 

This was a most important accession to the crew of the Richard, and 
that of the Alliance. Neither of these ships had had many Americans 
among their crews. Among those who came from the English prisons 
was Mr. Richard Dale, who had been captured as a master's mate, in the 
Lexington, 14 guns. This young of&cer did not reach France in the 
cartel, however, but had previously escaped, came to I'Orient, and joined 
the Richard. Jones soon learned his worth, and, in reorganizing his ship, 
had made him first lieutenant. 

The Richard had now nearly one hundred American seaman on 
board, and all the officers were native Americans, but the commander and 
one midshipman. Many of the petty officers were Americans also. In a 
letter of August nth, Jones states that the crew of the Richard consisted 
of 380 souls, including 137 soldiers, or marines. On the 14th of August 
the squadron sailed a second time, from Groix Roads ; having the Frencn 
privateers, Monsieur and Granville, in company, and under Jones' orders. 
The first parted company almost immediately, on account of differences 
concerning a valuable prize, and another was taken the day she left. 

On the 23d the ships were off Cape Clear, and while towing Richard's 
head round, in a calm, the crew of the boat, which happened to be manned 
by Englishmen, cut the tow-line and escaped. Mr. Lunt, the sailing- 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 227 

master, manned another boat, and taking four marines, pursued the fugi- 
tives. A fog came on, and Mr. Lunt not being able to find the ships 
again, fell into the hands of the enemy. Through this desertion, and 
its immediate consequences, the Richard lost twenty of her best men. 

The day after this escape the Cerf cutter was sent close in, to recon- 
noitre, and to look for the missing people ; and, for some unexplained 
reason, this useful vessel never rejoined the squadron. There appeared to 
have been no suspicion of any treachery on her part, and we are left to 
conjecture the cause of her disappearance. A gale of wind followed, dur- 
ing which the Alliance and Pallas separated, and the Granville parted 
company, by order, with a prize. The separation of the Pallas was 
caused by the breaking of her tiller ; but that of the Alliance was due to 
the unof&cerlike and unseamanlike conduct of her commander. 

DESPERATE EFFORT TO AVOID CAPTURE. 

On the morning of the 27th, the brig Vengeance was the only vessel 
in company with the commodore. On August 31st, the Bonhomme 
Richard, being off Cape Wrath, the northwest extremity of Scotland, 
captured a large English letter-of-marque, bound from London to 
Quebec ; a circumstance which proves the expedients to which their 
shipmasters were then driven to avoid capture, this vessel having gone 
north about, to escape the cruisers on the ordinary track. While in 
chase of the letter-of-marque, the Alliance hove in sight, having another 
London ship, from Jamaica as a prize. 

Captain Landais, of the Alliance, was an officer who had been obliged 
to quit the French navy on account of his unfortunate temper. He now 
began to show a disorganizing and mutinous spirit ; pretending, as his 
ship was the only real American vessel in the squadron, that that fact 
rendered him superior to Jones, and that he should do as he pleased with 
his ship. That afternoon a strange sail was made, and the Richard 
showed the Alliance's number, with an order to close. Instead of obey- 
ing the signal. Captain Landais swore, and laid the head of his ship in 
the opposite direction. Other signals were disobeyed ; and the control 



228 ^ JOHN PAUL JONES. 

of Commodore Jones over tlie ship, wliicli ought to have been the most 
efficient of the squadron, may be said to have ceased. 

Jones now shaped his course for the rendezvous he had appointed, 
in hopes of meeting the missing ships, and the Pallas rejoined him, 
having captured nothing. From then until the 13th of September the 
squadron continued its course round Scotland ; the ships separating and 
rejoining constantly, and Captain Landais assuming power over the 
prizes, as well as over his own vessel, that was altogether opposed to dis- 
cipline and to marine usage under the circumstances. 

PROJECT DEFEATED BY HEAVY GALE. 

On the 13th of September the Cheviot Hills were in sight from the 
ships. Understanding that a 20-gun ship, with two or three man-of-war 
cutters, were lying at anchor off Leith, in the Frith of Forth, Commodore 
Jones planned a descent upon that town. At this time the Alliance was 
absent, and the Pallas and Vengeance having chased to the southward, 
the necessity of communicating with those vessels caused a fatal delay, 
and ruined a promising project. The attempt was at last made, but 
when the men were actually in the boats the ships were driven out of the 
Frith by a heavy blow; and when in the North Sea one of their prizes 
actually foundered. 

The design was so audacious that it is probable the English would 
have been taken by surprise ; and no doubt much damage would have 
been done to them, but for the gale. Dale, a modest, and prudent 
man, thought so. 

After this bold project was abandoned, Jones appears to have medi- 
tated another still more daring ; but his colleagues, as he bitterly styles 
his captains, refused to join in it. We do not know what it was ; but 
only that the officers of Jones' own ship heartily approved it. Jones 
had much respect for the judgment of Captain Cottineau, of the Pallas, 
and as he disapproved of it, it was dropped. 

The Pallas and Vengeance even left the Richard — probably with a 
view to prevent the attempt to execute this nameless scheme ; and the 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 229 

commodore was compelled to follow his captains to the southward or lose 
them altogether. Off Whitby they came together again, and on Sep- 
tember 2 1st the Richard chased a collier ashore, near Flamborough 
Head. 

The next day she was at the mouth of the Humber, the Vengeance 
being in company, and several vessels were taken or destroyed. Pilots 
were enticed on board, and a knowledge of the state of things inshore 
obtained. It appeared that the whole coast was alarmed, and that many 
persons were burying their plate. By this time about a dozen vessels 
had been taken, and rumor increased the number. No vessels had ever 
before excited such local alarm on British shores, for centuries. 

SENT IN CHASE OF A BRIG. 

Under the circumstances Commodore Jones did not think it prudent 
to remain so close in with the land, and he accordingly stood out under 
Flamborough Head. Here he was joined, next day, by the Pallas and 
Alliance. This was on the 23d of September. 

The wind was light from the southward, the water smooth, and 
many vessels in sight, steering in different directions. About noon the 
squadron, with the exception of the Cerf and the two privateers, being 
all in company, Jones manned one of the pilot-boats he had detained, and 
sent her in chase of a brig, which was lying to, to windward. On board 
the little vessel were Mr. Lunt, the second lieutenant, and fifteen men, 
all of whom were absent from the ship for the rest of the day. 

In consequence of the loss of the two boats off Cape Clear, the 
absence of the party in the pilot-boat, and the number of men that had 
been put in prizes, the Richard was now left with only one lieutenant, and 
with but little more than three hundred souls on board, exclusive of pris- 
oners. Of the latter there were about one hundred and fifty in the 
Richard. 

The pilot-boat had hardly left the Richard when the leading ships 
of a fleet of more than forty sails were seen stretching out on a bowline 
from behind Flamborough Head, turning down to the south. From 



280 JOHN PAUL JONES. 

previous intelligence this fleet was immediately known to be the Baltic 
ships, under the convoy of the Serapis, 44 guns, Captain Richard Pearson, 
and a hired ship that had been put into the king's service, called the 
Countess of Scarborough. The latter was commanded by Captain 
Piercy, and mounted 22 guns. 

As the interest of the succeeding details will principally centre in 
the two ships, the Serapis and Bonhomme Richard, it may be well to 
give a more minute account of the actual force of the former. At 
that period 44' s were usually built on two decks , and such was the con- 
struction of this ship, which was new, and was reputed to be a fast vessel. 
On her lower gun-deck she mounted 20 18-pound guns ; and on her upper 
gun-deck 20 9-pound guns ; and on her quarter-deck and forecastle ten 
6-pound guns ; making an armament of fifty guns. She had a regularly 
trained man-of-war's crew of 320 souls, of whom fifteen are said to have 
been Lascars, and was fully equipped for action. 

WARNING GIVEN OF A HOSTILE FORCE. 

When Jones made out the convoy, the men-of-war were inshore, 
astern, and to leeward, probably with a view to keeping the merchantmen 
together. The officials at Scarborough, perceiving the danger into which 
this fleet was running, had sent a boat off to the Serapis, to apprise her 
of the presence of a hostile force, and Captain Pearson fired two guns, 
signaling the leading vessels to come under his lee. These orders were 
disregarded, however, the headmost ships continuing to stand out from 
the land. 

Jones, having ascertained the character of the fleet in sight, showed 
signal for a general chase, and another to recall the lieutenant in the 
pilot-boat. The Richard then crossed royal yards. These signs of hos- 
tility alarmed the nearer English merchant ships, which hurriedly 
tacked, fired alarm guns, let fly their top-gallant sheets, and made other 
signals of the danger they found themselves in, while they now gladly 
availed themselves of the presence of the men-of-war to run to leeward, 
or else seek shelter close in with the land. 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 231 

Tlie Serapis, on the contrary, signaled tHe Scarborough to follow, 
and hauled boldly out to sea, until she got far enough to windward, 
when she tacked, and stood inshore again to cover her convoy. 

The Alliance being much the fastest vessel of the American squad- 
ron, took the lead in the chase, speaking the Pallas as she passed. It 
has been proved that Captain Landais told the commander of the latter 
vessel on this occasion, that if the stranger proved to be a iifty-gun ship, 
they had nothing to do but to escape. His subsequent conduct fully 
confirms this, for no sooner had he run down near enough to the two 
English vessels-of-war to ascertain their force, than he hauled up and 
stood off from the land again. This was not only contrary to all regular 
order of naval battle, but contrary to the positive command of Jones, 
who had kept the signal to form line flying, which should have brought 
the Alliance astern of the Bonhomme Richard and the Pallas in the van. 
Just at this time the Pallas spoke the Richard, and inquired what station 
she should take, and she was directed at once to fall into line. 

THE RICHARD'S GALLANT CREW. 

Captain Cottineau was a brave man, who subsequently did his duty 
in the action, and he had only thought that, because the Richard had 
suddenly hauled up from the land, her crew had mutinied, and that she 
was being run away with. Such was the want of confidence in the 
force so singularl}^ composed, and such were the disadvantages under 
which this celebrated combat was fought. So far, however, from medi- 
tating retreat or mutiny, the crew of the Richard had gone cheerfully 
to their quarters, although every man on board was conscious of the 
force of the enemy with whom they were about to contend ; and the 
spirit of the commanding officer appears to have communicated itself to 
his men. 

It was now quite dark, and Jones was compelled to use a night- 
glass to follow the movements of the enemy. It is probable that the 
darkness added to the indecision of the Captain of the Pallas, for even 
after the moon rose it was thick, and objects at a distance were seen 



232 JOHN PAUL JONES. 

with difficulty. The Richard continued to stand steadily on, and at 
about half-past seven she came up with the Serapis, the Scarborough 
being a short distance to leeward. The American ship was to wind- 
ward, and, as she slowly approached. Captain Pearson hailed. The 
answer returned was purposely equivocal, and both ships delivered 
their broadsides at almost the same moment. 

MANY KILLED BY BURSTING GUNS. 

As the water was quite smooth, Jones had relied very much upon the 
eighteen-pounders which were in the Richard's gun-room ; but at this 
first discharge two of the six that were fired burst, blowing up the deck 
above and killing or wounding many of the people stationed below. This 
disaster rendered it impossible to make the men stand at the other heavy 
guns, as they could have no confidence in them. It at once reduced the 
broadside of the Richard to about one-third less than that of her opponent 
and the force which remained was distributed among the light guns in a 
disadvantageous manner. In short, the battle was now between a twelve- 
pounder and an eighteen-pounder frigate, with the chances almost pre- 
ponderatingly in favor of the latter. 

Jones himself said that after this accident his hopes rested solely 
upon the twelve-pounders that were immediately under the command of 
his First Lieutenant, Dale. The Richard, having backed her top-sails, 
exchanged several broadsides, when she filled again and shot ahead of 
the Serapis, which ship luffed across her stern and came up on the 
weather quarter of her antagonist, taking the wind out of her sails, and 
in her turn passing ahead. 

All this time, which was about half an hour, the fire was close and 
furious. The Scarborough now drew near, but it is uncertain whether 
she fired or not. The officers of the Richard state that she raked them 
at least once, but her commander reported that, owing to the smoke and 
darkness, he was afraid to discharge his guns, not being able to make out 
which ship was friend and which foe. 

Unwilling to lie by and be uselessly exposed to shot, Captain Piercy 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 233 

edged away from the combatants, exchanging one or two broadsides, at a 
great distance, with the Alliance, and shortly afterward was engaged at 
close quarters by the Pallas, which ship compelled him to strike to her, 
after a creditable resistance of about an hour. 

Let us now return to the principal combatants. As the Serapis kept 
her luff, sailing and working better than the Richard, it was the inten- 
tion of Captain Pearson to pay broad off, across the Richard's fore-foot, as 
soon as he had got far enough ahead. But making the attempt, and find- 
ing he had not room, he put his helm down, to keep clear of his adver- 
sary, and this double movement brought the two ships nearly in a line, 
the Serapis leading, the Richard being dangerously near her foe. 

JONES RUNS HIS SHIP ON THE ENEMY. 

By these evolutions the English ship lost some of her way, while 
the American, having kept her sails trimmed, not only closed but actu- 
ally ran on board of her antagonist, bows on, a little on her starboard 
quarter. The wind being light, much time was consumed in these 
manoeuvres, and nearly an hour had elapsed between the firing of the 
first gun and the moment when the vessels got foul of each other in 
the manner just described. The English thought it was the inten- 
tion of the Americans to board, and for some minutes it was uncertain 
whether they would do so or not, but the position was not safe for 
either party to pass into the opposing ship. 

There being at this time a complete cessation of the firing. Captain 
Pearson hailed and asked whether the Richard had struck. " I have not 
yet begun to fight," was the answer from Jones. The Richard's yards 
were then braced aback and, the sails of the Serapis being full, the ships 
separated. 

As soon as they were far enough apart, the Serapis put her helm 
hard down, laid all aback forward, shivered her after sails, and wore short 
round on her heel, with a view, most probably, of luffing up across the 
Richard's bow, in order to rake her. In this position the Richard would 
have been fighting her starboard, and the Serapis her port guns ; but 



234 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 



Jones, by this time, had become convinced of the hopelessness of success 
against so much heavier metal ; and so backed astern some distance, 
filled on the other tack, and luffed up, with the intention of meeting the 
enemy as he came to the wind, and of laying him athwart hawse. 

In the smoke and dim light, one or the other party miscalculated the 

distance, for the vessels 
came foul again, the bow- 
sprit of the English vessel 
passing over the poop of the 
American. As neither had 
much way the collision did 
but little injury, and Jones, 
with his own hands, imme- 
diately lashed the enemy's 
head-gear to his mizzen- 
mast. The pressure on the 
after sails of the Serapis, 
which vessel was nearly 
before the wind at the time, 
brought her hull round, and 
the two ships gradually 
fell close alongside of each 
other, head and stern; the 
j ib-boom of the Serapis giv- 
ing way with the strain. A 
spare anchor of the English 
ship now hooked in the 
quarter of the American, and additional lashings were got out on board 
the latter, to secure her opponent in this position. 

Captain Pearson, who was a brave and excellent of&cer, was fully 
aware of his superiority in weight of metal ; and he no sooner perceived 
that the vessels were foul than he dropped an anchor, in the hope that 
the Richard would drift clear of him. But, of course, such an expectation 




JOHN PAUL JONES. 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 235 

was futile, as the yards were interlocked, tlie hulls pressed close together, 
there were lashings fore and aft, and every projection aided in holding 
the two ships together. When the cable of the Serapis took the strain, 
the vessels slowly tended, with the bows of the Serapis and the stern of 
the Richard, to the tide. 

At this time the English made an attempt to board, but were repulsed, 
with trifling loss. All this time there was a heavy fire kept up from the 
guns. The lower ports of the Serapis having been closed as the vessel 
swung, to prevent boarding, they were now blown off, to allow the guns 
to be run out ; and cases actually occurred in which the rammers had to 
be thrust into the ports of the opposing ship, in order to be entered in 
the muzzles of their proper guns. It was evident that such a state of 
things could not last long. In effect, the heavy metal of the Serapis, in 
one or two discharges, cleared all before it, and the main-deck guns of 
the Richard were almost abandoned. Most of her people went upon the 
upper deck, and a great number collected on the forecastle, where they 
were safe from the battery of the Serapis ; continuing the fight by throw- 
ing grenades and using muskets. 

AMERICAN VESSEL BADLY SHATTERED. 

At this stage of the action, then, the Serapis was tearing the Ameri- 
can to pieces, below, at each discharge of her battery ; the latter only 
replying to the English fire by two guns on the quarter-deck, and three 
or four of her twelve-pounders. To the quarter-deck guns Jones suc- 
ceeded in adding a third, by shifting a gun from the port side ; and all 
these were used with effect, under his own eye, until the close of the 
action. He tried to get over a second gun, from the port side, but did 
not succeed. 

The fight must now have been decided in favor of the English, but 
for the courage and activity of the people aloft. Strong parties were 
placed in the tops, and, after a sharp and short contest, the Americans 
had driven every man of the enemy from the upper deck of the English 
frigate. After this they kept up so sharp a fire of small arms upon the 



236 JOHN PAUL JONES. 

quarter-deck of the Knglisli ship as to keep it clear, shooting down many 
in the operation. 

Thus, this singular condition of affairs obtained, that, while the Eng- 
lish had the battle very much to themselves, below, the Americans had 
control of their upper deck and tops. Having cleared the latter, some of 
the American seamen laid out on the Richard's main-yard, and began to 
throw hand grenades down upon the deck of the British ship ; while the 
men on the Richard's forecastle seconded these efforts bj^ casting gren- 
ades, and other combustibles, through the ports of the Serapis. 

MANY KILLED BY DISASTROUS EXPLOSION. 

At length one man, in particular, became so bold as to take up liis 
post on the extreme end of the 3^ard ; and being provided with a bucket 
of grenades and a match, he dropped the explosives upon the enem}^, one 
of them passing down the Serapis' main hatchway. The powder boys of 
the English ship had got up more cartridges than were needed at the 
moment, and had carelessly laid a row of them along her main deck, 
parallel with the guns. 

The grenade which came down the hatch set fire to some loose powder 
on the deck, and the flash passed to these cartridges, beginning abreast 
of the mainmast, and running away aft. The effect of the explosion was 
awful. More than twenty men were instantly killed ; many of them 
being left with nothing on them but the collars and wrist-bands of their 
shirts, and the waist-bands of their duck trousers. 

The of&cial returns of Captain Pearson, made a week after the action, 
show that there were no less than thirty-three wounded on board then, 
still alive, who had been injured at this time ; and thirty of them were 
said to be in great danger. 

Captain Pearson reported that the explosion destroyed nearly all the 
men at the five or six aftermost guns of the Serapis ; and, altogether, 
nearly sixty of the Serapis' men must have been instantly disabled. 

The advantages thus obtained by the coolness and intrepidity of the 
topmen of the Bonhomme Richard, in a measure restored the chances 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 237 

of the fight, and, by lessening the fire of the enemy, enabled Jones to 
increase his. And in the same degree that it encouraged the Americans 
did it diminish the hopes of the English. 

One of the guns, directed by Jones himself, had been for some time 
firing against the mainmast of his enemy ; while the two others were 
assisting in clearing his decks with grape and canister. Kept below 
decks by this double attack, where they had a scene of horror before their 
eyes in the agonies of the wounded, and the other effects of the explosion, 
the spirits of the English crew began to droop, and a very little would have 
caused them to surrender. From this despondency they were tempo- 
rarily raised by one of the unlooked-for events which characterize every 
battle, whether afloat or ashore. 

EXCHANGING BROADSIDES AT A DISTANCE. 

After exchanging the ineffectual and distant broadsides with the 
Scarborough, as already mentioned, the Alliance had kept standing off 
and on, to leeward of the two principal ships, and out of the direction of 
their shot, when, about half-past eight, she appeared, crossing the stern 
of the Serapis, and the bow of the Richard, and firing, at such a distance, 
and in such a way, that it was impossible to say which vessel would suf- 
fer the most. 

As soon as she had drawn out of range of her own guns, her helm 
was put up, and she ran down near a mile to leeward, and hovered about, 
aimlessly, until the firing had ceased between the Pallas and the Scar- 
borough, when she suddenly came within hail, and spoke both vessels. 
Captain Cottineau, of the Pallas, earnestly entreated Captain Landais, of 
the Alliance, to take possession of his prize, and allow him to go to the 
assistance of the Richard, or else to stretch up to windward in the Alli- 
ance, and go to the succor of the commodore. 

After some delay. Captain Landais took the very important duty of 
assisting his consort into his own hands, and, making two long stretches, 
under top-sails only, he appeared, at about the time at which we have 
arrived in the story of the fight, directly to windward of the two ships 



288 JOHN PAUL JONES. 

wliicli were locked together in mortal combat. The head of the Alliance 
was then to the westward. This ship then opened fire again, doing at 
least as mnch damage to friend as foe. Keeping away a little, she was 
soon on the port-quarter of the Richard ; and some of the people of the 
latter afiirmed that her guns were discharged until she had got nearly 
abeam. 

Many voices now hailed to inform the Alliance that she was firing 
into the wrong ship ; and three lanterns were shown in a line on the off- 
side of the Richard, which was the regular signal for recognition in a 
night action. An officer was then directed to hail, to command Captain 
Landais to lay the enemy on board ; and the question being put as to 
whether the order was understood, an answer was given in the affirmative. 

STRATEGIC MOVEMENTS OF THE CONTENDING SHIPS. 

As the moon had now been up for some time, it was impossible not 
to distinguish between the two vessels. The Richard was all black, 
while the Serapis had yellow sides ; and the impression among the people 
of the Richard was that Landais had intentionally attacked her. 

Indeed, as soon as the Alliance began to fire, the people left one or 
two of the twelves on board the Richard, which they had begun to fight 
again, saying that the English in the Alliance had got possession of the 
ship and were helping the enem}^ 

The Alliance's fire dismounted a gun, extinguished several battle- 
lanterns on the main deck, and did much damage aloft. This ship now 
hauled off to some distance, always keeping the Richard between her and 
the enemy ; and then she re-appeared, edging down on the port beam of 
her consort, and hauling up athwart the bows of that ship and the stern of 
her antagonist. The officers of the Richard reported that her fire then 
recommenced, when by no possibility could her shot reach the Serapis, 
except through the Bonhomme Richard. In fact, it appears that this 
Landais was one of those men who, for generations, affected the French 
character for seamanship and conduct in naval battles. 

There were, and are, many excellent French seamen, and as builders 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 239 

of vessels they are unexcelled. But some men, like Landais, at that 
time had destroyed their reputation afloat. 

Ten or twelve men appear to have been killed on the forecastle of 
the Richard at this time, that part being crowded, and among them an 
officer of the name of Caswell, who, with his dying breath, maintained 
that he had received his death wound from the friendly vessel. 

After crossing the bows of the Richard and the stern of the Serapis, 
delivering grape as he passed, this "lunatic Frenchman" ran off to lee- 
ward again, standing off and on, and doing absolutely nothing for the 
remainder of the fight. It was as if a third party, seeing two men fight- 
ing, should come up and throw a stone or two at them both, and then 
retire, saying he had rather the little fellow whipped. 

JONES' SHIP BADLY DAMAGED. 

The fire of the Alliance certainly damaged the Bonhomme Richard, 
and increased her leaks ; and the latter vessel by this time had leaked 
so much through her shot-holes that she had begun to settle in the water. 
Many witnesses affirmed that the most dangerous shot-holes received by 
the Richard were under her port bow and port-quarter ; or, in other 
words, where they could not have been received from the Serapis. But 
this is not entirely reliable, as it has been seen that the Serapis luffed up 
on the port-quarter of the Richard in the commencement of the action, 
and, forging ahead, was subsequently on her port bow, endeavoring to 
cross her fore-foot. These shots may very possibly have been received 
then, and as the Richard settled in the water, have suddenly increased 
the danger. On the other hand, if the Alliance did actually fire while 
on the bow and quarter of the Richard, as appears by a mass of testimony, 
the dangerous shot-holes may have very well come from that ship. 

Let the injuries have been received from what quarter they might, 
soon after the Alliance had run to leeward again an alarm was spread 
throughout the Richard that she was sinking. 

Both the contending ships had been on fire several times, and the 
flames had been extinguished with difficulty ; but here was a new enemy 



240 JOHN PAUL JONES. 

to contend witli, and, as tHe information came from the carpenter, whose 
duty it was to sound the pump-well, it produced a good deal of alarm. 

The Richard had more than a hundred English prisoners on board ; 
and the master-at-arms, in the hurry of the moment, and to save their 
lives, let them up from below. In the confusion of such a scene, at night, 
in a torn and sinking vessel, the master of the letter-of-marque that had 
been taken ofiF the north of Scotland, passed through a port of the Richard 
into one of the Serapis, where he reported to Captain Pearson that a few 
minutes would probably decide the battle in his favor, or carry his enemy 
down, as he (the captain of the privateer) had been liberated in order to 
save his life. 

BRAVE REPLY OF THE AMERICAN COMMANDER. 

Just at this moment the gunner of the Bonhomme Richard, who had 
not much to do at his quarters, came on deck, and not seeing Commodore 
Jones, or Mr. Dale, both of whom were occupied with the liberated pris- 
oners, and believing the master (the only other superior ofiicer of the 
ship) to be dead, he ran up on the poop, to haul down the colors, and, as 
he believed, save all their lives. 

Fortunately, the flag-staff had been shot away, and as the ensign 
already hung in the water he had no other means of letting his intentions 
be known than by bawling out for quarter. Captain Pearson now hailed 
to inquire if the Richard demanded quarter, and Commodore Jones, hear- 
ing the hail, replied '^ No." 

It is probable that the reply was not heard ; or, if heard, supposed to 
come from an unauthorized source ; for, encouraged from what he had 
heard from the escaped prisoner, by the cries, and by the confusion which 
appeared to reign on board the Richard, the English captain directed his 
boarders to be called away, and, as soon as they were mustered, he 
directed them to take possession of the prize. Some of the Englishmen 
actually got upon the gunwale of the American ship, but, finding board- 
ers ready to repel boarders, they precipitately retreated. The Richard's 
topmen were not idle at this time and the enemy were soon driven below 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 241 

again, with loss. In the meantime Mr. Dale (who was afterwards Com- 
modore Dale) had no longer a gun which could be fought, and he 
mustered the prisoners at the pumps, turning their consternation to 
account, and probably keeping the Richard afloat by this very blunder 
that had come so near losing her. Both ships were now on fire again, and 
both sides, with the exception of a very few guns on board each vessel, 
ceased firing, in order to turn to and subdue this common enemy. 

ENEMY LOSING HOPE OF VICTORY. 

In the course of the battle the Serapis is said to have been on fire 
no less than twelve times ; while, towards its close, as will be seen in the 
sequel, the Bonhomme Richard had been burning all the time. As soon 
as order was restored in the American ship, after the gunner's call for 
quarter, her chances of success began to increase ; while the English, 
driven under cover, appeared to lose the hope of victory. Their fire 
slackened very materially, while the Richard again brought a few guns 
to bear. 

It was an example of immense endurance on either side ; but as time 
went on the mainmast of the Serapis began to totter, and her resistance, in 
general, to lessen. About an hour after the explosion, or about three hours 
and a half after the first gun was fired, and about two hours and a half 
after the ships were lashed together. Captain Pearson hauled down his 
colors with his own hands, his men refusing to expose themselves to the 
fire of the Richard's tops. 

As soon as it was known that the English colors were down, Mr. 
Dale got upon the gunwale of the Richard, and laying hold of the main- 
brace pendant, swung himself on board the Serapis. On the quarter-deck 
he found the gallant Captain Pearson, almost alone, that officer having 
maintained his post throughout the whole of this close and murderous 
engagement, proving himself a man of great nerve and ability. 

Just as Mr. Dale addressed the English captain the first lieu- 
tenant of the Serapis came up from below, to inquire if the Richard had 
struck, as her fire had entirely ceased. Mr. Dale informed the English 

:: APH 



242 JOHN PAUL JONES. 

officer that lie had mistaken the position of things, the Serapis having 
struck to the Richard, and not the Richard to the Serapis. Captain 
Pearson confirming this, his surprised subordinate acquiesced, offering 
to go below and silence the guns on the main deck, which were still 
playing on the American ship. To this Mr. Dale would not consent, 
but passed both the English officers at once on board the Bonhomme 
Richard. 

The firing below then ceased. Mr. Dale had been closely followed to 
the quarter-deck of the Serapis by a midshipman, Mr. Mayrant, with a 
party of boarders, and as the midshipman struck the quarter-deck of the 
prize, he was run through the thigh with the boarding pike, in the hands 
of a man who was ignorant of the surrender. Thus did the close of this 
remarkable sea fight resemble its other features in singularity, blood be- 
ing shed, and shot fired, while the boarding officer was in amicable dis- 
course with his prisoners. 

JONES ORDERS THE VESSELS SEPARATED. 

As soon as Captain Pearson was on board the Bonhomme Richard 
and a proper number of hands sent to Mr. Dale, in the prize, Commodore 
Jones ordered the lashings to be cut, and the vessels to be separated, 
hailing the Serapis, as the Richard drifted from alongside of her, and 
ordering her to follow his own ship. Mr. Dale had the head-sails of the 
Serapis braced sharp aback, and the helm put down, but the vessel did 
not obey either the canvas or the helm. 

Mr. Dale was so surprised and excited at this that he sprang from 
the binnacle, to see the cause, and fell, full length, on deck. He had 
been severely wounded in the leg, by a splinter, and until that moment 
had been ignorant of the injury. He had just been picked up and 
seated, when the master of the Serapis came up and informed him of the 
fact that the ship was anchored. By this time Mr. Lunt, the second 
lieutenant, who had been away in the pilot-boat, had got alongside, and 
came on board the prize, when Mr. Dale gave him charge, the cable was 
cut, and the ship followed the Richard, as ordered. 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 243 

Altlaougli this protracted and bloody contest had now ended, the vic- 
tors had not done with either dangers or labors. The Richard was not 
only sinking from shot-holes but she was on fire, so that the flames had 
got within the ceiling and extended so far that they menaced the maga- 
zine, while all the pumps, in constant use, could barely keep the water in 
the hold from increasing. 

Had it depended upon the exhausted crews of the two combatants, 
the ship must soon have foundered ; but the other vessels now sent men 
on board to assist. So imminent did the danger from the fire become 
that all the powder left was got on deck, to prevent an explosion. In this 
manner did the night of the battle pass, with one gang always at the 
pumps and another fighting the flames, until about ten o'clock in the 
forenoon of the 24th, when the fire was got under. 

BOTH SHIPS SUPPOSED TO BE SINKING. 

Before daylight that morning eight or ten Englishmen, of the Rich- 
ard's crew, had stolen a boat of the Serapis and made their escape, land- 
ing at Scarborough. Several other men of the Richard were so alarmed 
at the condition of the ship that during the night they jumped overboard 
and swam to the other vessels. At daylight an examination of the ship 
was made. Aloft, on a line with those guns of the Serapis which had not 
been disabled by the explosion, the timbers were nearly all beaten in or 
beaten out, for in this respect there was little difference between the two 
sides of the ship. It is said, indeed, that her poop and upper decks 
would have fallen into the gunroom but for a few futtocks which the 
shot had missed. 

So large was the vacuum, in fact, that most of the shot fired from 
this part of the Serapis at the close of the action must have gone through 
the Richard without touching anything. The rudder was cut from the 
stern-post and her transoms were nearly driven out of her. All the after 
part of the ship, in particular, that was below the quarter-deck, was torn 
to pieces, and nothing had saved those stationed on the quarter-deck but 
the impossibility of elevating guns which almost touched their object. 



244 JOHN PAUL JONES. 

The result of the examination was to convince everyone of the im- 
possibility of carrying the Richard into port in the event of its coming 
on to blow. Commodore Jones reluctantly gave the order to remove the 
wounded, while the weather continued fair. 

The following night and a portion of the succeeding day were 
employed in this duty, and about nine in the morning the officer who was 
in charge of the ship, with a party at the pumps, finding that the water 
had reached the lower deck, at last abandoned her. About ten the Bon- 
homme Richard wallowed heavily, gave another roll, and went down, 
bows foremost. 

The Serapis suffered much less than the Richard, as the guns of the 
latter were so light, and so soon silenced, but no sooner were the ships 
separated than her main-topmast fell, bringing with it the mizzen-top- 
mast. Though jury-masts were erected the ship drove about, nearly 
helpless, in the North Sea until the 6th of October, when the remains of 
the squadron, with the two prizes, got into the Texel, the port to which 
they had been ordered to repair. 

GREAT LOSS OF LIFE ON BOTH SIDES. 

In this battle an unusual number of lives were lost ; but no authenti- 
cated report seems to have come from either side. The English stated 
the loss of the Richard to have been about three hundred in killed and 
wounded. This would include nearly all on board that ship, and was, of 
course, a mistake. The muster-roll of the Richard, excluding the marines, 
which roll was in existence long after, shows that 42 men were killed, or 
died of wounds very shortly, and that 41 were wounded. No list of the 
casualties of the marines is given. This would make a total of 83 out of 
227 souls. But some of those on the muster-roll were not in the battle 
at all, for both junior lieutenants, and about 30 men with them, were 
absent in prizes. 

There were a few volunteers on board who were not mustered and, 
so, if we set down 200 as the regular crew during the action, we shall 
not be far wrong. Estimating the marines at 120, and observing the same 




PAUL JONES SEIZING THE SILVER PLATE OF LADY SELKIRK. 245 



246 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 



proportion for casualties, we sliall get 49 for the result, wiiicli will make 
tlie entire loss of the Richard one hundred and thirty-two. It is known, 
however, that in the course of the action the soldiers suffered out of pro. 
portion to the rest of the crew, and as general report made the gross loss 
of the Bonhomme Richard 150, it is 
probable that this was about the 
number. 

Captain Pearson made a partial 
report, putting his loss at 117, admit- 
ting, at the same time, that there were 
many killed who were not reported. 
Probably the loss of the two ships was 
about equal, and that nearly or quite 
half of all engaged were either killed 
or wounded. 

In a private letter, written some 
time after, Jones gives an opinion that 
the loss of men in the two ships was 
about equal. Muster-rolls were loosely 
kept in those days. 

That two vessels of so much force 
should be lashed together for more 
than two hours, making use of artil- 
lery, musketry and all the other means 
of offence known to the warfare of the 
day, and not do even greater injury to 
their crews, must strike every one with 
astonishment. But the fact must be 
ascribed to the peculiarities of the battle, which, by driving the English 
under cover early in the fight, and keeping the Americans above the 
chief line of the fire of their enemy, in a measure protected each side 
from the missiles of the other. As it was, it was a most sanguinary 
conflict, with a duration prolonged by unusual circumstances. 




MEDAL, AWARDED TO JOHN PAUL 
JONES BY CONGRESS. 



JOHN PAUL JONES. 24T 

Tile arrival of Jones and his prizes in tlie Texel excited much 
interest in the diplomatic world. The English demanded that the prizes 
should be released and Jones himself given up as a pirate. The Dutch 
Government, though favorable to the Americans, was not prepared for 
war, and therefore temporized. A long correspondence ensued, and the 
following expedient was adopted. The Serapis, which had been refitted, 
was transferred to France, as was the Scarborough, while Jones took 
command of the Alliance, Landais having been suspended, and ordered 
to quit the country. Landais was afterward restored to command, but 
deposed again on the ground of insanity, and eventually discharged the 
service. 

Jones was absent from home for about three years, during which 
time his exploits were numerous and of the most astonishing character. 
He was denounced as a pirate by the English, who became so alarmed 
by his achievements that many people did not feel safe even in London. 
Some of the timid ones looked out on the Thames, half expecting to 
see the terrible fellow lay their city under tribute. At one time he 
landed on the coast of Scotland, and, appearing at the residence of the 
Earl of Selkirk, captured a large amount of silver plate and booty. 
But he treated the earl's household with great courtesy, and the plate 
that was seized at the time is now in the possession of the members of 
the Selkirk family. 







A\\k^ 



CHAPTER XIII 

SERGEANT WILLIAM JASPER. 

HERO OF FORT MOULTRIE — FLAG OF SOUTH 
CAROLINA INSCRIBED WITH "LIBERTY" — 
STANDARD SHOT AWAY — JASPER'S BRAVE 
DEED — PRESENTED BY GOVERNOR RUTLEDGE 
WITH HIS OWN SWORD — HIS GALLANT SER- 
VICES UNDER MARION. 



You must bear in mind that not only were tlie patriots in our Revo- 
lution forced to combat witli tlie Britisli invaders of their country, but 
that they had enemies at home. These were men who believed it wrong 
to fight for their independence, and who thought the rule of King 
George III. the best that the colonies could have. Many of the Tories 
were cruel and treacherous, and while their patriotic neighbors w^ere 
away from home fighting for liberty, injured their property, sometimes 
burning their houses and shooting the members of their families. When 
brave enough to face danger they would either join the British invaders 
or form companies of their own to fight against their fellow-citizens. It 
is probable that some of the Tories were honest in theii belief, but no 
one can justify their brutalities. 

There was a severe conflict in North Carolina between the patriots 
and Tories, in which the latter were defeated with a heavy loss. So 
completely were the traitors crushed, that for a time it was hard work 
to find one in that part of the country. 

The British commanders, Clinton, Cornwallis and Parker, showed 
no great eagerness to engage in their work. The first-named general 
having reached Wilmington, awaited the arrival of the fleet and re-in- 

forcements. The ships came in one by one, the first arriving on the 

248-spe:ciai, 



SERGEANT WILLIAM JASPER. 



249 



third of May, 1776, with Admiral Parker. This delay gave the Conti- 
nentals good opportunity to prepare themselves for the attack. 

Christopher Gadsen was colonel of the first patriot regiment, and 
William Moultrie commanded the second. There was also a regiment 
of riflemen, all famous marksmen, while their colonel, William Thomp- 
son, was the best shot of all. Tories were plentiful in South Carolina, 




FORT MOULTRIE, CHARLESTON HARBOR. 

but they were pretty well scared, and when North Carolina sent a regi- 
ment to her neighbor's help, all danger to the patriots from the rear was 
removed. 

It was easy to see the importance of Charleston. The British 
General Clinton could do nothing without the help of his fleet, and that 
fleet was powerless until it had possession of Charleston harbor. The 
South Carolinians saw this from the first, and did not wait until the 



250 SERGEANT WILLIAM JASPER. 

danger was upon tlieni before preparing for it. Scarcely was tlie news 
of Lexington known when tiiey began fortifying tbe barbor. They 
knew their turn would soon come, and they did not mean to be caught 
napping. 

On the north side of the entrance to the harbor lay Sullivan's Island 
— low, marshy and wooded — while on the south side was James Island, 
much larger. Gadsen was intrenched on the latter, and Moultrie and 
Thompson were on Sullivan's Island, which is six miles distant from 
Charleston. The streets of the town were barricaded and a large force 
was kept under arms to resist the assault that was sure to come, in case 
the outer defenses were carried. The most important of these was the 
fort erected by Moultrie on Sullivan's Island, opposite the place where 
the channel ran closest to the shore. No vessel could reach Charleston 
without passing that fort, and as long as the vessels were held at bay 
Charleston was safe, and the inhabitants felt at ease. 

A CURIOUS FORT. 

The walls of the fort were made of palmetto logs, and the spaces 
between filled with sand, so that the walls were over a dozen feet in 
thickness. The middle of the fort was a swamp. The work was not 
finished when called upon to resist the tremendous assault of the fleet. 
The front was completed, and thirty-one guns were mounted on it. 
There was room for a thousand men, but the garrison numbered only 
four hundred. 

Copies of the royal proclamation offering pardon to such as would 
lay down their arms were sent to the patriots, but of course that work 
was thrown away. General Lee, the commanding American officer, 
watched the preparations making by Moultrie and shook his head. 

"It is impossible with these defenses to keep back the fleet," he 
said, with the positiveness of one who was sure he was right. " I do not 
believe you can hold out half an hour. The fort will be knocked all to 
pieces." 

"Then we'll lie behind the ruins," replied Moultrie, "and keep at it." 



SERGEANT WILLIAM JASPER. 251 

" You have no means of retreat," added Lee. " If you are defeated 
the slaughter will be dreadful." 

" We're not going to be defeated, general." 

This was brave talk, but it did not quiet the fears of the command- 
ing officer. He was in favor of abandoning the place, or at least of 
building a bridge of boats from the island to the mainland, but Colonel 
Moultrie was so urgent that Lee gave him his own way. 

Clinton and Cornwallis agreed that the best plan was to land on a 
sandbank, and then pass to Sullivan's Island by means of a certain ford 
said to exist at low water. On the 17th of June, twenty-five hundred 
British disembarked on this patch of sand, only to be tormented by 
mosquitoes, the blazing sun and a lack of good water. It was the worst 
time of the year for people unused to the flaming skies of the south. 
And now, when the invaders came to examine the supposed ford it was 
found to be fully seven feet deep at low water. It looked as if the only 
way to get across was for the soldiers to walk on stilts, to ride on each 
other's shoulders, or to swim. None of these methods could be adopted, 
and there was little prospect, therefore, of Clinton giving help to the fleet. 

BREASTWORKS GUARDED BY RIFLEMEN. 

After repeated delays, the attack was opened on the 28th of June, 
1776. Parker was confident he could reduce the fort and defeat the large 
bod}^ of Continentals encamped on the island in the rear of the fort. 
The Americans had an advanced post at one extremity of the island, 
where the men were protected by sand-hills and myrtle bushes, with 
breastworks thrown up in the rear, and guarded by a large number of 
riflemen. On the left was a morass, and on the right a couple of guns 
commanded the spot where it was expected Clinton would land his men. 

About the middle of the forenoon of that hot June day, the British 
fleet, numbering ten men-of-war, and carrying two hundred and fifty-four 
guns, sailed up the channel, the Bristol, flying Admiral Parker's pennant, 
being third in line. Over the fort fluttered the flag of South Carolina, 
blue in color, with a silver crescent and a single word, "Liberty." 



252 



SERGEANT WILLIAM JASPER. 



The garrison grimly awaited the approach of the ponderous hulls, 
slowly sweeping forward, with a wealth of bellying canvas above. As 
they swung one after another into range, Moultrie sent a few cannon 
balls whistling 
towards them, 
but the ships 
made no reply 
until they had 
dropped anchor 
in position be- 
fore the fort. 
Then their 
"thunders shook 
the mighty 
deep." Spouts 
of flame shot 
from the throats 
of hundreds of 
cannon, and tons ^^^ 
of metal went 
hurtling over the 



water towards ^^^^J 
the fort. When 
the smoke clear- 
ed away. Ad- 
miral Parker 
and his of&cers 
expected to see 
the fortifications 
splintered and American marksman in a tree. 

shattered as if by a myriad of thunderbolts. General Lee and a vast 
crowd, many with glasses, intently watched the result from Charleston. 
There was scarcely a sign that the fort had been struck. The 




SERGEANT WILLIAM JASPER. 



253 



palmetto logs were the best material that could liave been used. Tbey are 
spongy and fibrous, and wben struck by a cannon ball the wood does not 
splinter, but seems to absorb tbe metal. Of course, the heavy balls did 

some damage, 
and the sand 
often flew aloft 
in showers ; but 
the result was 
highly pleasing 
to the Ameri- 
cans and equally 
.^.,J disappointing to 
*^^|«l the British. Ad- 
miral Parker, 
however, con- 
cluded that it 
would merely 
take him a little 
longer than was 
anticipated to 
demolish the de- 
fenses that dis- 
puted his pas- 
sage to the city. 
Most of the 
shells that 
curved over into 
the fort fell into 
the marsh in the 
centre, where 




SERGEANT JASPER RECO\ 



HE FLAG AMIDST A FIERY 



STORM OF SHOT AND SHELL. 

they were quenched by the water and mud, and sputtered out without 
harming anyone. No one could have shown more coolness and bravery 
than Colonel Moultrie. He smoked his pipe, growled now and then 



254 SERGEANT WILLIAM JASPER. 

as a twinge of gout shot through his leg, and, limping back and forth 
inspired all with his own courage. The weather was excessively hot, 
and banks of sulphurous vapor almost suffocated the defenders, as they 
fought half naked. Their well-aimed shots crashed through the rigging 
and hulls of the ships with tremendous effect. 

Suddenly the flag at the southeast bastion fell to the beach. The 
flagstaff had been cut in two by a ball from one of the vessels. Sergeant 
William Jasper bounded through one of the embrasures, seized the 
ensign, climbed the wall amid a furious fire, waved the flag defiantly at 
the enemy, and securing it on a pike, coolly fixed it in place, and jumped 
down among his comrades. It was a magnificent deed of valor. 

AMERICAN SHOTS VERY DESTRUCTIVE. 

The British showed great bravery, but they could not equal the 
damage inflicted b}^ the American shots, aimed with so much skill. 
Everybody on the quarter-deck of the flag-ship Bristol was either killed 
or wounded ; and, for a time. Admiral Parker was the only one who 
stood there unhurt. Captain Morris was struck in the neck, and shortly 
after his right arm was shattered by a chain shot. He passed quietly 
below, had his arm amputated and dressed, after which he returned to 
the quarter-deck, where he continued to direct the action of the ship 
until a shot passed through his body and his voice was hushed forever. 

Toward the latter part of the day, the hopes of the assailants were 
raised by the slackening of the American fire. It looked as if the fleet 
was about to prevail, and the faces of the spectators in far away Charles- 
ton paled with anxiety. But Colonel Moultrie never dreamed of yielding. 
He filled his pipe again, and sent word to General Lee that his ammuni- 
tion was low, and that he must have more at once. At that time only 
enough was left for the musketry, in case the British landed. 

Moultrie had asked for ammunition earlier in the day. Now, when 
he saw how bravely his men were fighting while he hobbled painfully 
about, it is not strange that he lost patience and used some vigorous 
language, because his request for a time was unheeded. When he first 



SERGEANT WILLIAM JASPER. 255 

applied to Lee, tlie general was not inclined to grant his request, reply- 
ing that if the ammunition was expended he should spike his guns and 
retreat. Governor Rutledge, who was in Charleston, forwarded five 
hundred pounds of powder to Moultrie with the request that he should 
not be quite so free with his cannon, and two hundred pounds were re- 
ceived from a schooner lying at the back of the fort. 

During the afternoon some reinforcements were sent by Lee '^vith 
orders to support the advance guard under Thompson, at the east end of 
the island. A little later, General Lee went over to Moultrie and sighted 
several of the cannon. Struck with the skill and courage of the patriots, 
he said with a smile : "I don't think I am needed here, colonel ; I will 
go back to town and tell the folks how well you are getting along." 

EXPEDITION AGAINST CHARLESTON ABANDONED. 

Lee took his departure. The day was very long, but when the sun 
went down, and darkness crept over the harbor and city, the fire still 
continued. The thousands that were gazing in the direction of the com- 
batants could see only the red flash of the ships' broadsides and the 
answering crimson jet from the walls of the fort, and could hear, after 
long intervals, the resounding boom of the cannon. 

It was nine o'clockwhen Admiral Parker, who was slightly wounded, 
decided to withdraw. The ships slipped their cables, and the expedition 
against Charleston was abandoned. The British had lost two hundred 
and five men killed and wounded, while of the Americans ten were killed 
and twenty-nine wounded. Three of the vessels had grounded on a sand 
bank. Two of them were got off during the night, and the third was 
fired and abandoned by the crew. While she was burning, a number of 
Americans boarded her, captured her colors, fired some of the guns at 
Parker's squadron, filled three boats with her sails and stores, and got 
safely away before she blew up. 

Nothing could be more complete than was the triumph of the 
Americans. The key to the south, as it may be called, had been held 
against the utmost efforts of the British army and fleet, and that section 



256 SERGEANT WILLIAM JASPER. 

of our country was safe for the time. General Lee wrote to Washington 
that he was " captured" by the coolness and bravery of the defenders 
under twelve hours' fire. Had Colonel Moultrie been a young and vain 
man he would have been ruined by the praises he received. The fort was 
named for him, his regiment was presented with two beautiful bannerS) 
and congratulations poured on him from every quarter. All Charleston 
flocked to the fort after the departure of the fleet. General Lee admitted 
his mistake as to the strength of the defenses. He reviewed the regiment 
on the 30th of June, the date of the presentation of colors by the ladies of 
Charleston. Governor Rutledge visited the garrison on the 4th of July, 
and expressed the gratitude of South Carolina. Congress, at a later 
date, voted its thanks to Lee, Moultrie and Thompson, and to the of&cers 
and soldiers under their command. Governor Rutledge presented 
Sergeant Jasper his own sword and a lieutenant's comruission, but he 
modestly declined the latter on the ground that he could neither read 
nor write. 

Had not his education in his boyhood been neglected he might, by 
his native force of character and daring bravery, have risen to a high com- 
mand in the army. He will always be remembered, however, for his 
courageous act in rescuing the lost flag and planting it again in the face 
of the foe, despite the hot hail of battle that raged around him and 
threatened him every moment with death. 

One cannot read the history of the Revolution without coming upon 
the valiant deeds of such brave spirits as Sergeant Jasper, yet it is safe 
to say that a multitude of heroes have never been commemorated, and 
the story of their heroism has never been told. The best part of his- 
tory may be buried in obscurity. Without any thought oi future fame, 
those old-time patriots stood nobly at the post of duty, and many of them 
died "unhonored and unsung." 

If we delve in the obscurity that shrouds the achievements of the 
heroic souls who won our liberties, we should find names, all unknown, 
that are as shining as any now blazoned on the pages of history. 



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